A Blessing in Disguise
by Queen of all things-oh a bird
Summary: Sesshoumaru, Itachi, and Deidara are three of the most well-renowned men of the century, known for their grace, good-looks, and intellect. Then reality pays them a visit in the form of the clumsiest woman ever.
1. Three Rich Men and a Klutz

**After tasting life's nastiest medicine, I've returned with a new story. Hopefully, I'll continue on my other stories as well. Not that any of you care. Heheh...**

* * *

Hokage Industries was hailed all over the world as one of the most successful businesses in the world. Employees were treated with respect, and customers were treated like gold. Hokage Industries was in fact a business that not only manufactured several different items, but it was most hailed for it's insurance company. Hokage had won many awards and had been owned by one family for five generations. However, lately, things were going downhill for Hokage Industries.

The latest president of the business, Tsunade, had fallen into a coma that, according to her doctors, had occurred because of her age and the stress of her job. Her son had died in a car wreck nineteen years before, and her grandson had to complete collage before he could even think of taking the job. Normally, the employees were allowed to vote on who should take over the company. That was not the case this time, for, surely, no one would have ever voted for the vice president to take over the company. The press had a field day over the newly appointed president of Hokage Industries, making up scandals and outrageous theories. The news papers and bloggers were all abuzz about phony reports saying that Danzo, the new president, had drugged the old woman, and that he was the one who sent her into a coma. Doctors, however, stated that there were no traces of any harmful chemicals in her bloodstream. That only lead to more conspiracy theories about the doctors being bribed to make that report. There were theories about how the man having affairs with her interns, while others accused Danzo of having seduced her, and that she requested in her will for him to take over the company.

This gave Hokage Industries' rivals, Akatsuki Inc., the perfect opportunity to flourish in their own business. For the longest time, they had been trying to get Tsunade's grandson, Naruto, to join them, saying he would be a valuable asset. Naruto, however, continually refused the offer every time. It had been his dream since he was very young to run Hokage Industries.

One of the board members of Akatsuki Inc., Uchiha Itachi, had been in charge of getting the young boy to join. The prospect had not even been considered easy, and he had failed every time. The CEO of Akatsuki Inc. had indeed been disappointed, but he had expected it to be difficult. However, now that Hokage Industries was being slowly destroyed from the inside out, the CEO, Pein, had little need for the young heir.

However, such knowledge about the scandals and turmoil were lost to the employees who were at the bottom of the food chain. Such as a young cleaning girl who was currently trying to fix the water fountain by the bathrooms on the third floor.

"I'm not a mechanic," she muttered miserably. "I haven't even been properly trained to do this sort of thing." Suddenly, something inside snapped and she was immediately sprayed by water. Coughing and sputtering, she desperately tried to cover up the leak with her hand. "I do not get payed enough to do this!"

"Then you should quit," said a cold voice behind her. The young woman turned to find herself staring straight at none other then Sai, Danzo's right hand man. Her chocolate brown hair was soaking wet, but that did not deter her from glaring at the young male behind her. The expression on his face was so devoid of emotion, she wasn't sure if he was amused by her situation or not.

"I would if I had a choice," she replied bitterly. "However, I can barely afford to live where I do now, and leaving my job would only make my situation worse." She wasn't even sure why she was even talking to the young man. Even though they were relatively the same age, he had somehow climbed to a position of power while she remained stuck in the slums.

"Well, I did hear that Akatsuki Inc. is hiring," he said in his usual monotone. "I hear they pay cleaning girls rather well." Okay, now he was making fun of her!

"Don't you have anything better to do then poke fun at me, Sai?"

"I wasn't trying to make fun of you, Megumi," he answered. "I'm trying to help you. Even I can see you've been miserable ever since Danzo took over the company."

"And the first company you suggest is Akatsuki Inc.," she replied sarcastically. She still had not removed her hand from the broken pipe. "What do you want in return for giving me such advice? Did you or Danzo want me to be your little spy or something? The answer is no way. I'm not going to get myself involved as something as stupid as business politics."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," said Sai. She could have misheard, but she thought for a second that his monotone voice was strained. "Then perhaps Taisho Corp. or Orochimaru's Laboratory? I heard you were interested in becoming a doctor."

Those two businesses were not necessarily rival businesses to Hokage Industries, but they did pose threats in their own ways. Taisho Corp. was owned by a young man named Sesshoumaru, with his younger half-brother, Inuyasha, as vice president. It had been passed down to them from their father. Orochimaru's Laboratory was out of the question. She had heard about the rumors about that place, and she didn't want to confirm any of them. She wasn't that desperate. Megumi had her own reasons for not wanting to work for Taisho Corp. It wasn't good to have a slight crush on your boss.

"No and no way!" she cried, forgetting the broken pipe and letting go. After more coughing and sputtering, she finally covered the pipe back up.

"You probably should have turned the water off before you tried to fix it," said Sai, stabbing her where it hurt. She glared at him sharply.

"Go away, Sai," she snarled. She heard him snicker as he left. Megumi let out a sigh before reaching for her cart. She carefully pulled out a radio, all the janitors and the cleaning girls had one. She was lucky she hadn't lost hers yet, being the forgetful ditz that she was.

"Hey, Konohamaru?" she said into the radio.

"Yeah?" came the slightly muffled reply.

"I need you to turn off the water for the third floor," she said. "I accidentally broke a pipe."

"Shock! All right I'm on it!" Megumi let out a growl. Yes, she was a total klutz. It was amazing that Danzo hadn't decided to fire her already. She had injured herself more times than she bothered to count, she had gotten several other employees hurt, and several other things that she should have been fired for. Danzo probably figured that she would get tired with working for a company that had been taken over so brutally.

"All right, Megumi," said a voice on the radio. "The water's off, you can remove your hand from the pipe." She let out a sigh as she did so. Nothing but a few drops of water came out.

"Thanks," she said before realizing what he had said. "HEY!!!"

* * *

"Taisho-sama will see you in a moment. Please, until then, Takahashi-san make yourself comfortable," said Rin, Sesshoumaru's secretary. She had a sweet young face and it made Megumi wonder why she hadn't heard any sort of scandals about Sesshoumaru and his secretary. Then she quickly remembered who it was she was thinking about. There wasn't anyone brave enough to even suggest such a scandal, let alone try to publish it in the papers or magazines without worrying about their head being lopped off. She doubted his half-brother was that brave!

She tried to picture the two of them together and quickly suppressed the urge to giggle. It was a cute sight to think about. It didn't even look scandalous to her, even if she did idolize Sesshoumaru a bit. Then panic set back into her chest. She was about to be interviewed for a job by _the_ Sesshoumaru she currently idolized. For one, she couldn't believe she actually took Sai's advice in the first place, but he had been right though. She _had_ been miserable there at Hokage Industries. So at the same time she was nervous, she was silently praying that she got this job.

"Takahashi-san?" said Rin quietly startling Megumi out of her thoughts. "Taisho-sama will see you now." For a moment, she couldn't move and felt as though she were glued to the seat. When she finally found her body, she stood up and approached the two mahogany doors and waited. Rin hit the button for them to open automatically.

Right then time seemed to freeze, or at least slow down to such an unbearable pace so that it was almost excruciating to watch. Her dull gray eyes fell on his topaz eyes. His silver hair was neatly tied in a braid and ran down his back gloriously. His white tux was almost blinding, and his tie was red with white flowers at the bottom. In one word, he could only be described as gorgeous.

There were, however, other words that came to mind as well as her gaze was fixedly locked with his, cold, calculating stare.

"Come in before the door shuts on you," he stated in a harsh voice that made chills run up and down her spine. She was looking at the famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) Ice Prince. She had watched him on TV when he gave press conferences, but never had his voice given her such an electrifying feeling. It was, quite frankly, terrifying. Without another word, Megumi took her first two steps into the room when the toe of her shoe got caught up in the rug. She let out a cry as she landed face first on the floor. She had the fortune of missing the twitch of annoyance on Sesshoumaru's face.

_'What a lovely first impression! You're hired!'_ she thought irritably as she felt her whole body turn red. She quickly stood back up and scrambled to straighten herself out.

Sesshoumaru was not impressed, and certainly didn't appreciate the flashes of her underwear she kept accidentally throwing at him. He shut his eyes as he let out a small, irritated sigh. Normally, this was Inuyasha's job, to oversee the hiring of new employees. However, his half-brother and his newly-wed bride were currently on their honeymoon in Hawaii, so the job was left to him.

"So, you want a part-time job as a cleaning girl, is that right?" he asked as soon as she was done fiddling.

"U-uh, y-yes," she stuttered. She had really expected him to shove her back out the door. She noticed the slight blush on his cheeks. It was very, very, very, very slight, but it was still there. She wondered what could make him blush when she realized that she must have accidentally flashed him as she had been straightening out her skirt. She turned so red that she was sure her head was going to explode.

"Tell me why you want to work for this company," he said, tactfully ignoring the way her face was red as a tomato.

"I-I heard you were in need of help in my particular area of expertise," she said honestly, "and my current employer is not... um... supplying me with the proper provisions for me to perform my job to the best of my abilities." ​_'Yeah, like respect.'_

"I see," he replied. They had both managed to compose themselves again, although Megumi was still a little pink. "Are there any other reasons?"

"Um... no, not really," she replied.

"Hm. What were your expectations for your current job and to what extent were they met?" he started.

Megumi held back the urge to sigh from relief. After that first blunder, she wasn't sure how well she would have been able to continue, but thankfully, he had managed to smooth it out and ignore it. For that she was grateful, but she didn't put down her guard down just yet. She answered his questions in her usual business like manner. She had done this many times so she knew what to expect.

"Do you ever plan to get a second job?" he asked suddenly. She was working part-time, so certainly her situation would call for such a thing since she wasn't going to school.

"Um, no, not really, but I'm sure I would take it if the opportunity presented itself," she said honestly, then she realized her mistake. Why would they hire someone who had the potential of having such a busy schedule?

_'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'_

"That's good," he said, catching her off guard.

"Excuse me?"

"The position you are applying for doesn't offer enough money or hours for anyone who lives on her own," he replied. "You did say you lived in your own apartment?"

"Uh... yes," she said.

"Yes, so I suggest you either keep your current job or find a second one," he said. "I'll need you to stay and speak to my secretary. She will fill you in on the details."

"Do you mean... I've got the job?" she asked almost dumbfounded.

He raised his eyebrow before answering. "Yes," he said. Though, he had a feeling he was going to regret doing just that.

"Oh, thank you, Taisho-sama," she said with a bow.

"When you speak to me, you will address me as Sesshoumaru-sama, but to others, you will call me Taisho-sama, understood?" he said.

"Uh, yes, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said.

"Good, you may go," he replied with a wave of his hand as he returned to his paperwork. Megumi had to resist the urge to skip out of his office. Her idol, Taisho Sesshoumaru, had hired her as... a cleaning girl. Well, the job wasn't going to be pleasant—that much was certain—but the fact that she was under the employ of one of her idols was enough to cheer her up.

"Well, Takahashi-san," said Rin once she was out of the office and the doors were shut once again. "Let me go ahead and give you the papers you need to fill out. There are some papers you need to bring in as well. When do you think you can start on your training?"

"As soon as tomorrow, if that's okay," said Megumi. She had the next day off, so she was pretty much free for that whole day.

"Perfect, fill these out, and here's a list of what you need to bring me," said Rin. Megumi sighed as a pile of papers were shoved into her hands. At least she wouldn't be bored tonight. She looked up at Rin's smiling face, only to feel jealousy grip her heart. With a word of polite thanks, she took off with her arms filled with stuff. She had almost wished that she had Rin's job, but immediately realized how utterly ridiculous that idea was.

How would she get any work done if she was so distracted?

With a long winded sigh, she stepped into the elevator for a ride seventy-eight stories down. She quietly leaned against the railing as people got on and off simultaneously, until, finally, they reached the bottom. Even as she carefully stepped out of the elevator so as to not trip over anything, she bumped into someone, causing her to drop and spread her papers all over the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said as she hurriedly gathered her papers. She didn't see the young man bend over to help her out. Once they were all gathered, he shoved his stack into her face, forcing her to look up at him.

"Be careful next time, hm," he grunted. He had long blond hair pulled back into a high ponytail while his bangs covered up his left eye. His almond-shaped eyes were piercingly blue. Megumi felt herself blush at his words.

"Yes, I'm sorry," she apologized timidly. He knelt down beside her to get a better look at her, ignoring how passer-by's were staring at them sitting in the middle of the hallway. He then looked down at the papers in his hand.

"You gonna start workin' here, hm?" he asked.

"Um, yes," she replied, "but I'm just a cleaning girl." He looked back up at her.

"Deidara," he stated.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm Deidara," he tried again.

"I'm Megumi, Takahashi Megumi," she replied, her already red cheeks turning darker. Suddenly, Deidara stood up as did she. He was still staring at the papers in his hands when he pulled out a pen and wrote something on the top left hand corner before shoving the papers into her arms again.

"Call me tonight," he whispered as he passed by her. Speechless, Megumi simply froze where she stood. She had certainly not expected that after her interview with Sesshoumaru. As soon as she had turned around, he, as in Deidara, was no where to be found. She looked down at the papers he had shoved at her and sure enough, he had left her his phone number. Unable to think clearly, her legs automatically moved on their own and led her back to the safety of the bus stop. As soon as she set down on the bent, she relaxed and tried to sort out what had just occurred.

Carefully, she peered down at the papers in her hands, and sure enough, there were two phone numbers scribbled at the top of the page. One number had a "c" written next to it meaning cell phone.

_'I wonder what he wants,'_ she wondered innocently. Quickly tucking them away into her bag, she decided not to dwell on it until she got home. She hopped onto the bus that would take her to the apartment complex she lived in and decided not to let it get to her.

* * *

She had yet to gather the courage to go ahead and call. She merely stared at the papers on the table with the two phone numbers. It wasn't that she was afraid to call; she was just unsure of which number to try first. She had already filled out the papers Rin had given her, and Megumi was glad that Deidara had written down his numbers on an unimportant sheet. Otherwise, she would have to explain why there were phone numbers on them.

"All right, I'll just try the cell phone number," she muttered to herself as she picked up the phone. She quickly dialed the number, her breath hitching in her throat as she nervously waited for the phone to ring.

"Hello?" she heard on the other end.

"Hello? Is Deidara there?" she asked.

"This is he," he replied. "Is this Megumi?"

"Um, yes, it is?"

"Is this your cell phone?"

"Um, no, this is my home phone. I don't have a cell phone," she replied.

"Oh," he said. There was a moment of awkward silence as Megumi stared at the clock on the wall. Three thirty, it read. Today was one of her off days.

"Are you free tonight?" he asked, his voice startling her out of her daze.

"Um, yes," she replied awkwardly.

"Then, how about I take you to dinner, hm?" he asked. Megumi felt her jaw drop. Not in all of her wildest dreams did she ever think something like this would be happening to her. He was very good-looking and certainly had enough women tailing him where ever he went. Certainly, he didn't find her attractive. She was a walking stick with hair. She wore an A-cup for Pete sake!

"Uh, okay," she said. It wasn't like she was going to say no. For one, when she last saw him, he was wearing an Italian suit, obviously rich, and two, drop dead gorgeous, and three, she didn't know how to say no.

"All right, how about seven o'clock?" he asked.

"That sounds good," she breathed.

"Okay, where do you live?" Wait, he was going to pick her up too?

"That's okay. I'll meet you somewhere," she said.

"Where do you live, hm?" he asked again as if he hadn't heard her. She couldn't believe this. She hesitantly gave him the street and apartment number.

"Hmph, seven o'clock, got it?" he said.

"Y-Yeah," she said when he hung up. She held the phone to her ear as she attempted to process what had just occurred.

"I'm going on a date?" she asked herself aloud. Finally finding herself, she pressed the end button, but before she could even put the phone down, it began to ring. Hesitantly, she pressed the talk button and answered.

"Hello, this is Megumi," she said.

"Takahashi Megumi-san?" said a voice on the line. "Hello, I'm Hoshigaki Kisame from Akatsuki Inc."

_'Huh?'_

"We got a fax about an hour ago. It was your resume, and we were wondering if you could come in for an interview," he said in a very serious, business-like voice.

_'Huh?'_

"It'll only take a few minutes," he said. "How about at four-thirty?"

_'Huh?!'_

"Just give your name at the front desk, and the lady there will direct you from there," he said. "I'll see you then." With that said, he hung up.

"HUH?!!!" she cried out. She pressed the end button and grit her teeth. She knew who exactly had sent the fax, and she wasn't about to let him get away with it!

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

Megumi stormed through the building of Hokage Industries like a hurricane. Anyone who was in her way quickly stepped to the side to let her pass. No one was about to stop her. She passed cubicle after cubicle until she found what she was looking for, a door with a sign that said "Do Not Disturb" written on it. She didn't heed the sign as she shoved the door open and slamming it against the wall. She almost thought she heard a comical crack in the wall, but paid it no mind. Sure enough, there they were, Danzo and his little pet, Sai.

"The sign says 'do not disturb,' Megumi," said Danzo menacingly.

"_You!" _she hissed, pointing at Sai. "_You_ sent that fax, didn't you?!"

"I have no idea what you mean," said Sai.

"You faxed my resume over to Akatsuki Inc., didn't you?!" she shrieked.

"Oh, that," he drawled. "Um, I might have. I don't remember."

"Don't play dumb!" she cried.

"You really shouldn't raise your voice like that," said Danzo, his voice low but strong. "I want you to work for Akatsuki Inc. as my little spy, unless, that is, you want your new employee, Sesshoumaru, to know about your younger brother's trip to prison, and how you bailed him out with Tsunade's help."

"You're blackmailing me?" she cried. "That's illegal!"

"Well, we'll pay you triple your current salary," said Danzo. "So, not only will you be working two jobs, you'll be getting paid several times the amount you would normally make. You could even pay off your debt and get a nice apartment. Unlike the dump you live in now."

Megumi felt all her pent up energy die as she stared disbelieving at the two men in front of her. She felt her anger disappear as fear gripped her heart. Tsunade had promised that information would never get out to anyone. Megumi had been friends with Tsunade's intern, Sakura, and it was Sakura who had convinced Tsunade into helping Megumi get her younger brother out of prison. Such information reaching Sesshoumaru would in fact mean her termination.

"All right," she said through gritted teeth, "you win. What do you want?"

"Just do your best on the interview, and get the job, no matter what it is," said Danzo. "Oh, and do your best not to give yourself away. I know how much of clumsy little girl you are, so please, be careful." Suddenly, two large security men came up from behind her and grabbed her by the arms. Danzo smiled maliciously

"Please escort this lovely young lady to the exit, but be nice, she's just a little lost is all," he said in an overly sweet tone that made her sick to her stomach. She was thankful that they didn't rough-house her though. She didn't need bruises for the interview she was unwillingly going to. As soon as she was out of the building, she hopped onto the next bus to Akatsuki Inc.

"How did they get they're hands on that information?" she asked herself quietly. Of course, it wasn't like she was surprised. Everyone believed that Danzo had some funny friends underground, assisting him in getting dirt on anyone he wanted.

Upon entering the Akatsuki building, Megumi felt her heart sink into her stomach. She wasn't here to be a spy. She tried to tell herself as she slipped her bag over her shoulder. The young teenager at the desk was examining her nails with her feet propped up on her desk as she spoke into her headset.

"So I told him—no, I'm talking about Ryo," she said into the headset, obviously talking to one of her friends. She was blond with a bust that made Megumi green with envy, but she just stood there, waiting for the teenager to notice her. "Yeah, I told him that we could only play if it meant that I was on top. Yeah, and he got all mad and jumped me. He—can I help you?"

_'Ugh, finally!'_ "Um, I'm here for an interview with Hoshigaki Kisame?" said Megumi.

"Yes, third floor down the hall to the left fifth door on your right," she said quickly before going back to her conversation. Megumi quietly muttered her thanks before hurrying off towards the elevator, but not before running into something solid... and warm. Before she could fall from the impact, an arm wrapped itself around her waist and keeping her from losing her balance completely.

"Are you all right?" asked a gentle baritone voice. However, there was no emotion in it, like Sai's voice.

"Yes, thank you for—" the words nearly died in her throat as she found the face of the person who she had run into and catch her. His black hair perfectly framed his handsome face and his black eyes burned into her dull gray ones relentlessly. "—for catching me," she finished.

"You're welcome," he replied politely as he released her. She moved out of his way and bowed.

"I apologize for running into you like that," she muttered. He didn't respond out loud. He merely nodded his head to her as he passed. She didn't see it. With one last glance at his retreating back, she stepped into the elevator. As the girl at the front had instructed, she found Hoshigaki Kisame's office.

"Excuse me? I'm Takahashi Megumi," she said as she stepped into the room.

"Ah, yes, come in," said Kisame as he stood up from his chair. He was extremely tall and his hand practically covered her arm as they shook hands. He grinned at her with a very toothy smile and a look that appeared as though he were going to eat her, and was she seeing things or was that a blue tint to his skin?

"Please sit down," he said as he sat back down. She followed suit, nervously clutching her bag. "So, you're currently employed at Taisho Corp. is that correct?"

"Um, yes..." she said.

"All right, did you want to work here as a secondary job or a primary job?"

"Um, primary," she responded. "The job I have there currently doesn't have enough hours and pay and I need that."

"All right, well, let me go ahead and ask you a series of questions before I make a decision," he said. Megumi visually relaxed. She knew how to handle the usual questions, and answered them with the usual ease.

"Well, Takahashi-san, I believe that's it," he said as he straightened out the papers he had filled out while speaking with her. "Let me go speak with Pein-sama, and I'll be right back, all right?" She nodded, and he opened the door to reveal the same man she had run into earlier.

"Ah, Itachi-san," said Kisame. "Meet Takahashi-san. As soon as I speak with Pein-sama, she will be your new secretary."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

**Well, this was supposed to be a battle between Itachi and Sesshoumaru, but I needed a third party. I thought about Sasuke for awhile, but my sister and I agreed no, so Deidara got the part... and he's so out of character... ah well *dodges rotten fruit thrown by Deidara fans*. I will have a poll on my profile about who should "win" so-to-speak, and "none of the above" is indeed an option, but also remember that this is to see which has the most fans, so be sure to get your friends who are also fans of both Inuyasha and Naruto in on it. Please review... Anyone want to be my beta?**


	2. A Date and the Inevitable Accident

"_WHAT?!"_

It was close to around six o'clock when she got home. She had decided to walk all the way from Akatsuki Inc. Upon entering her house, she stumbled over to her couch and sat down with a heavy sigh. Itachi had been less then pleased that Pein-sama had specifically requested that she be his secretary, and she had adamantly declared that there was no way she was qualified for the job. That should have done the trick, but they just ignored her and Itachi's protests and went on to explain her job. Her schedule would not conflict with her work at Taisho Corp. In fact, they had contacted Taisho Corp. to be sure that there were no problems. Megumi's shift as the cleaning girl there was only four hours, from four to eight PM.

Megumi carefully glanced up at the clock and decided that now was the time to be getting ready for her date with Deidara. After showering and drying her hair, she began to search through her closet for something of "dating" material. It had been so long since she had last been on a date that she had almost nothing to work with. She finally settled on her light blue summer dress with spaghetti straps and a white lace shawl to cover her shoulders. She wasn't very sexy, so there was no point in trying to flaunt what wasn't there, she mused silently. She brushed her hair into a high pony-tail, carefully pinned a fake white rose to decorate it, and carefully curled the ends (trying not to burn herself with the curling iron).

After putting on the finishing touches of her make up, she sat quietly on her couch with her purse and keys in her lap and waited. To say that she wasn't nervous would be a lie, she hadn't been in a relationship in ages. Her last boyfriend hadn't necessarily been a gentleman to her—although she supposed that was partially her own fault—and so she had done everything she could to forget what had occurred during that particular relationship.

A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts, she quickly stood up and carefully stepped over to the door to open it. There stood her date, his blond hair still pulled back into a pony-tail, but now he was wearing a dark blue Italian suit. In his hands he held a bouquet of roses. The middle ones had fully bloomed and were white while the ones along the rim of the bouquet were red and had not fully bloomed yet.

_Very artistic..._

"Hello, Deidara-san," she said unsure of how to greet him. "How pretty! Are those for me?" Deidara visibly blushed and handed her the bouquet.

"You look good, hm," he muttered.

"Thank you," she said as she went back inside to place the roses in a vase. She thanked her usually unlucky stars that she didn't drop and break it. After doing that she turned around and stepped forward.

"All right, let's go," she said.

"The restaurant won't let you in without shoes on, hm," he said bluntly.

"Wha?" she said when she looked down at her feet, her bare feet. Her face immediately turned crimson, and Deidara had to suppress the urge to laugh aloud. The poor girl looked so embarrassed. "Let me go get my shoes, and then we can leave."

She quickly made a bolt for her room and came back out with a pair of small light blue high-heeled shoes that went very nicely with the rest of her outfit. Deidara nodded his approval and grabbed her wrist, practically dragging her out the door. After locking the door to her apartment, the two of them hurried down the stairs. The apartment building was less than wholesome, making Megumi flush with embarrassment. She could feel the eyes of the other occupants staring at her. It wasn't every day that a fellow tenant went out with someone who was so obviously rich.

Once they were outside, however, her embarrassment was immediately forgotten as she stared dumbfounded at the black stretch Hummer3 sitting there on the curb. The driver was waiting for them, holding the door open for them while everyone who was on the street or watching from their windows had the same expression on their faces as Megumi. Some were even taking pictures.

"Wow," Megumi murmured as she was dragged into the vehicle by her wrist. The inside was just as amazing, considering she could stand completely straight and her head not touch the ceiling. The ceiling was black with tiny lights littered all over it to make it look like the night sky. On the right side, there was a flat-screen TV with a set of wine glasses beneath it on a small holder. She peered around as if looking for something else as she sat down.

"What are you looking for, hm?" asked Deidara.

"I'm looking for the spa," she said seriously. Deidara let out a small chuckle.

"That's in my other stretch Hummer, hm," he said with a laugh.

"Really?" she replied, her eyes the size of dinner plates, obviously thinking that he was serious. Deidara couldn't help it then. He busted out laughing. Megumi blushed from embarrassment and looked away.

"You really are a plain girl from the slums, hm," he said. This time she glared at him.

"Are you insulting me?" she asked.

"No," he said seriously. "I've had enough of the up-class snobs and gold-digging super-models, hm. You're pretty much a breath of fresh air, hm."

"Again, insult or compliment?" she asked. "I can't really tell.

"Take it as a compliment, hm," he replied as he pulled out a small wrapped box. He handed it to her carefully.

"I didn't get anything for you," she said staring at the box instead of taking it.

"That's okay," he replied. "Open it, hm."

She gingerly took the box and carefully unwrapped it. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside. She shook her head, handing the box back.

"I can't accept this," she said. "It's too expensive."

"Exactly why I'll pay for the service on it, hm," he said. "Since we're dating, I need to be able to get a hold of you whenever your not at home, hm."

"But an Iphone is too much," she said. "I'm such a ditz that I might lose it or break it or something. It's the only other reason I don't have one other than I can't afford it. Wait, what?"

"What, hm?"

"Are you—I mean—are we, uh..." She couldn't find it in herself to say it aloud.

"Yes, you're my girlfriend, and I'm your boyfriend, hm," he said. "Do you have a problem with that, hm?" Megumi had a strange feeling that rejecting would be a bad idea. Perhaps trying a relationship again wouldn't be so bad.

"No, I don't," she said with a small smile as she took out the small Iphone. She carefully turned it on, an amazed look on her face. Deidara watched her with amusement. He kind of liked how she took everything in around her with wonder in her eyes. He hadn't been lying to her when he told her he was sick of all those rich snobs.

"You can use any of the extras you want," he started. "You can give your number to your family and your employers, but anyone else and you have to ask me, hm."

"Okay," she said. "Fair enough, it's not really mine anyway." Shortly after, they arrived at the restaurant. One would think that she would be some what used to it, but from the look on her face, it was apparent that she would take awhile to get used to such extravagant things and places.

"Deidara-san!" she gasped. "Here? Are you sure?" She was in such awe over the magnificence of the restaurant that she hardly took notice of the massive group of paparazzi. Deidara didn't respond to her. He let out an audible snarl at the swarm of photographers and reporters already there.

"C'mon," he growled as he grabbed her wrist again and dragged her out of the car.

"Oh my god! It's Deidara!" someone shouted. The paparazzi exploded with flashing cameras and questions.

"What do you think of the new President of Hokage Industries?"

"Are you worried about what Danzo might be plotting?"

"Do you think Danzo drugged the late President, Tsunade-sama?"

"Who's there girl?"

"Are you two together?"

"How did you two meet?"

"Are you the daughter of a rich business man?"

"What's her name?"

By the time the two of them were inside, Megumi's head was spinning so fast, she had to cling to Deidara's arm for support. They were seated immediately, and sure enough, there was someone else already there that had drawn the paparazzi attention previous to their arrival.

Orochimaru and his famous intern, Sasuke, were sitting not two tables away from them. Megumi tried to keep herself from staring at them, but it was hard not to look since she could feel at least one pair of eyes on her. When she finally pulled out the courage to look back, she was surprised to see Sasuke staring at her. She knew as well as everyone else that Sasuke was Itachi's younger brother, but to her, he didn't compare to his brother. His eyes didn't leave her breathless like Itachi's did.

When he looked away, she turned her gaze back on the menu, a little puzzled as to why he had been staring at her so intently. Suddenly panic rose into her throat. Could it be that he recognized her as his older brother's new secretary? No, she hadn't even started on that job yet. Then it had to be that he had never before seen anyone so plain and ordinary here in this particular restaurant. Yes, that had to be it.

She would have never guessed that she had hit the nail on the head. Orochimaru had seen the unusual display of curiosity on the boy's face when he was studying her.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" he hissed.

"That girl with Deidara-san," he started, "she's so plain. Why would he bring someone like that here?"

"Good question," replied Orochimaru who was just as puzzled as Sasuke was. However, unlike the young man before him, Orochimaru was more than capable of pulling his eyes away from the plain girl sitting with Deidara.

Megumi stared unblinking at the soup they had been served. There was so little; she was certain that she would have to fix herself something to eat later. Another embarrassing part of her personality, she was a hopeless glutton.

"So, um," she said picking up the spoon and dipping it into the soup carefully. She almost felt bad for ruining it. _'It's meant to be eaten, stupid!'_

"How long have you lived in that apartment, hm?" asked Deidara.

"What? Oh, um, about a year now, why?"

"Where did you live before then, hm?"

"Uh, with my parents," she replied, her eyes becoming hazy and melancholy. "I was recovering from an incident."

"What happened, hm?"

Her hair caste shadows over her eyes as she lowered her head. "If it's all right with you, Deidara-san, I'd rather not talk about it."

"Hmph." He stared at her for a moment before taking a sip of his own soup. Megumi followed suit as they had lapsed into silence.

"So, um, what do you do for a living?" she asked after several moments. _'If you work at all anymore.'_

"I'm part of a military manufacturing part of the company, hm," he replied. "The head of that department, actually. It specializes in building bombs, hm."

"Really?" she said.

"Yes, I actually find building bombs to be artistic, hm," he said.

"Artistic?"

"Hm, you really wouldn't believe all the intricacies it takes to build a bomb. You would probably even agree that it is an art form."

"Oh, that's interesting," she replied airily taking another sip of her soup. Suddenly, the spoon slipped out of her grip, creating a splash in the soup and it dripped on Deidara's clean and expensive suit. "Oh my-! I'm so sorry! Let me get-"

As she stood up with her napkin in her hand, she knocked over the table sending Deidara's bowl of soup to fall into his lap, essentially destroying his blue suit. She had also knocked her chair over, and a poor unsuspecting waiter with a platter of spaghetti didn't see it before he tripped over it and poured the plate onto another of the customers.

There was a complete moment of total disbelief from everyone in the room. Surely no one in the world was that clumsy, and even if they were, they wouldn't come here, of all places. Meanwhile, Megumi was turning into every shade of red that was known to man, desperately wishing she could disappear. The ruckus had drawn Sasuke's attention once again to her. Orochimaru was also staring, but with more amusement then anything while Sasuke could only wonder how such a strange person could exist.

"Ha!" Everyone then turned to Deidara who was now trembling with suppressed laughter. Before he knew it, he was laughing out loud.

"Deidara-san..." Megumi managed to murmur. When he finally came to, he wiped the tears away from his eyes.

"That was great, hm," he said. "I guess that's it for dinner, hm?"

"Deidara-san, I-I-I'm so sorry," she said, tears pouring over her eyelids. He just rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about it," he said as everyone started attempting to clean up. However, the customer who had spaghetti spilled all over her, rose up in anger.

"Excuse me? Don't worry about it?" shrieked the feminine voice of the spaghettied customer. "I'm covered in spaghetti here and you're just going to tell her not to worry about it!" Megumi shrunk back from the angry customer. She knew who this person was, and she didn't want her to find out who she was.

"Please calm down, miss, hm," said Deidara. "It looks lovely on you, hm."

"My name is Kagura!" she cried, "and don't you forget it! My hundred thousand yen dress is absolutely ruined!"

"Oh, stuff it!" shouted Deidara. "If you're really that mad about it, then I'll pay for it to get cleaned, hm!" Megumi was surprised at his outburst.

"Deidara-san," she murmured, "don't be rude."

"You!" shouted Kagura, pointing her finger at Megumi. "What's your name?"

"Takahashi Megumi, ma'am," Megumi replied timidly. Suddenly, Kagura's lips turned up in wicked smile. She certainly recognized the name.

"Takahashi Megumi, huh?" she asked. "What a pretty name... You know what, never mind. I can pay for this, no trouble. Megumi-san, please tell me where you live."

Deidara's eyes narrowed. "Why do you need to know that, hm?"

"Oh, perhaps a friend of mine knows a Takahashi Megumi," she said. Megumi shivered. She knew who it was, and she did not want to get involved with him ever again. "He's been meaning to get a hold of her, and I was just curious to see if she is the same Takahashi Megumi."

"I-I'm afraid I can't give you that information," Megumi murmured.

"Hmph, tell me where you live, or you will have to buy me a new dress," said Kagura. Her red eyes darted over to Deidara. "And you can't have any help from your rich boyfriend."

"What?!" shouted Deidara.

"Deidara-san," Megumi whispered, trying to keep him at bay.

"Megumi, just go ahead and tell her where you live, hm," he said, too frustrated to realize that he might be putting her in danger just from the suggestion. "She probably has the wrong person, anyway, hm."

_'No, I can't take that chance.'_

"I-I'll pay for your new dress," she said. Kagura frowned at her.

"Fine, give me your phone number so I can get a hold of you," she said. Megumi quickly sketched her home number down on a piece of paper.

"Fine," hissed Kagura. "I'll tell you when I find a dress I like."

"Yes," replied Megumi. Kagura sniffed and headed for the ladies room to clean up. Megumi let out a heavy sigh before she felt Deidara pull on her arm, forcing her to look at him.

"Why did you do that, hm?!" He shouted at her. "You know perfectly well that you could never afford anything that she picks out, hm. Why'd you do it, hm?"

"Deidara-san, that hurts," she said, but he didn't let go. "I have good credit. I'll ask the bank for a loan, and I'll pay them back."

"What makes you think they'll loan you money for a dress, hm?!" he shouted.

"I'm sure if I explain the situation, they'll understand," she said.

"Are you serious? What kind of outlook on life is that, hm?" he continued to shout. Megumi just looked away, not willing to respond. She knew that her way of thinking was ludicrous, but she didn't want to take a chance. She knew who Kagura meant, and she was certain she never, _ever_ wanted to meet up with the likes of _him_ again.

"Deidara-san," she said after several moments. "Please, let go. That really hurts." Deidara's eyes widened slightly as he released her arm. However, she did not make a come back from her melancholy state. "Deidara-san, please take me home, I'm very tired."

He nodded stiffly as he paid the bill and some extra for damage before they finally left. Megumi did not say anything more for the rest of the night until she was safely returned to her apartment building.

* * *

Megumi had never felt so exhausted in her entire life. Even after getting a full nights sleep, she felt like she had just completed a marathon as she dragged herself into Akatsuki Inc. the next morning. As soon as she turned in her paperwork, they directed her to Itachi's office. However, at the moment of her arrival, Itachi looked far from pleased to see her.

"So, you managed to grab a seat of power thanks to your boyfriend," he hissed as she entered his office. His tone of voice made her freeze on the spot.

"What?"

"Don't you _dare_ play dumb with me," he replied, his voice dangerously low. "You know perfectly well that your boyfriend, Deidara, works here."

"He does?"

Itachi slammed his hand on the desk as he stood up. "Explain this!" he nearly shouted as he tossed a magazine to her. She let out a soft breath when she saw what was on the cover.

"Uchiha-san," she started. "I honestly had no idea that—"

"That's enough!" he growled. "I'm going to have a word with Deidara, and then with Pein-sama. Prepare to forfeit your job." With that said, he stormed out, leaving a very frightened Megumi in his wake.

Forfeit her job? Already? She didn't do anything! She barely even started. Was Itachi that desperate to be rid of her. Why was he doing this? She was already stressed out thanks to the night before with Kagura, the bribe and blackmailing at Hokage industries, now she had to be saddled with the possibility of getting and losing her job in one day.

Itachi was, of course, furious that Deidara had talked Pein-sama into letting his little girlfriend be his secretary. At first he thought that it was odd that she wasn't Deidara's secretary instead, but Itachi was higher on the food chain. This only made him all the more furious. He despised gold-diggers like that, and he certainly wasn't about to let one in his office and be his secretary!

Deidara was staring at the same magazine that Itachi had thrown at Megumi when Itachi walked into Deidara's office. He was surprised to see the usually stoic man so obviously aggravated about something.

"I'm really starting to wonder why we hired you," Itachi spat at the blond young man. "You certainly managed to find your girlfriend a decent job."

"What?" Without breaking eye contact, Itachi bent over and pointed at the cover of the magazine.

"Your girlfriend happens to be my secretary," snarled Itachi.

"She's your secretary, hm?" said Deidara. "Why does this upset you so much, Itachi-_san_? Perhaps you wish to claim her as yours."

"Ridiculous," he replied. "So you admit you got her the position?"

"I never said that, hm!" shouted Deidara. "I didn't even know she was your secretary. I just met her yesterday, hm!"

"She had the interview yesterday, and became my secretary just today," Itachi hissed.

"Well, I certainly had nothing to do with it, hm!" shouted Deidara. "She never mentioned that she would be working under you! I'm sure Pein-sama could tell you that I did not influence him to make her your secretary, if that's what you're so angry about, hm!"

"Itachi-san," said a cool monotone voice from the door. A red haired man stood at the door, staring at the two men who were currently arguing with one another. "Deidara had nothing to do with my decision to get you a secretary. Did you think I wouldn't notice the way you force yourself to work twice as hard as usual? You may have failed to recruit the young Uzumaki boy, but I do not want you to overwork yourself since you have taken an extra load when Sasori retired. Whether you think you need the help, doesn't matter. I'm giving you the help anyway. I don't want to hear anymore concerning this subject, understood?"

Itachi nodded stiffly, knowing full well that it was unwise to argue with the CEO, especially when he was absolutely right, which only served to irritate Itachi more. Without another word, Itachi left Deidara's office and quickly returned to his own. Pein remained at Deidara's office, his face expressionless.

"I'm glad you found her when you did," said Pein.

"I don't feel good about this, hm," said Deidara. "I'm playing with her emotions, hm."

"You didn't seem to have a problem with that while you were dating all those other women," Pein replied coolly. "It doesn't matter. I get the feeling she didn't send her resume, but someone else did it for her or forced her to do it. I'm counting on you to coax it out of her."

Deidara nodded mutely, not daring to respond to the first comment.

Back at Itachi's office, Megumi was waiting almost anxiously for Itachi's return. When he did return, she hesitantly began to ask questions.

"So, do I still have my job? Do I need to leave?"

"Go fetch me a cup of coffee," Itachi ordered instead of answering her questions.

"What kind of coffee do you like?" she asked.

"Regular, black," he replied. With a smile, she rushed off to get what he wanted. She returned soon, holding the cup as carefully as she could.

"Here you go-ah!" she gasped as she tripped over the rug that she had forgotten was there, spilling coffee all over the floor. "Oh no! I'll go get someone to clean that up and get you another cup!"

Itachi rubbed his hand over his eyes. Shaking his head, he took out some important documents, setting them down on the desk before he began signing them. When Megumi returned with the second cup, she entered the room carefully and practically tip-toed all the way over to his desk. He immediately removed his papers from the desk as she set the cup down so if she spilled, it wouldn't soak any of his papers. Luckily, she didn't spill.

"Good," she sighed. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"Just take my calls, if anyone named Hidan calls, give them to me," he said.

"Yes, sir," she replied.

* * *

Megumi let out a loud, exasperated sigh as she paused briefly in her attempt to clean the windows of Taisho Corp. She was standing on one of the ladders with a spray in one hand and some paper towels in the other. The past week had been rather stressful getting used to being a secretary. She spilled the coffee at every opportune moment. She had twice lost important documents, forcing Itachi to redo them each time. It was even worse the second time because after he had redone them, she found the first copy. She let out another sigh as she continued her work.

She was still worried about Kagura, no doubt about it. The whole week, Megumi spent waiting, worrying. Waiting for some sort of sign that he might return to her life. However, the fact that she messed up every single day this week meant that he wasn't going to return anytime soon.

She knew she was clumsy and had the worst luck. There was no denying it. Anytime she got lucky, or if there was a whole day where she did screw up, she knew that something truly awful was about to occur. So, in a way, she had a built in warning system.

She shifted slightly to continue to clean the windows causing her foot to slip. She shrieked as she fell backwards, clamping her eyes shut as she waited for the inevitable impact. It never came, so when she opened her eyes, she wasn't surprised to see someone had caught her. She was surprised at who had caught her.

"S-S-S-S-Sesshoumaru-sama!" she cried. He gently set her down on her feet as a blush crawled upon her cheeks. "Th-Th-Thank you for catching me!" She bowed as a show of gratitude and apology. "And I'm sorry about that! I'll get right back to work!" She climbed back up the ladder, but carefully this time.

"Let someone else do that," said Sesshoumaru.

"Huh?" she replied as she looked down at him. He had heard about all her mishaps this week. As funny as some of them were, he didn't want to take a chance.

"You are clearly incapable of staying on the ladder, and I can not stay here and watch you to make sure nothing happens," he said. "Let someone else do that."

"Um... yes, sir," she replied timidly, stepping back down the ladder. "I'll just go get someone." When she was finally off, she moved to get someone, only to trip and fall right back into his arms.

"Really, your clumsiness is almost unbelievable," he muttered. Megumi blushed a deeper shade of red and pushed herself off of him, even though she wanted nothing more than to stay there. She murmured her apology, then took off to look for someone else to clean the windows.

His hand, however, stopped her from going any where. "I had no idea you were acquainted with Deidara of Akatsuki Inc.," he said. Megumi looked up at him. For a moment, she wished that he was just a little jealous. She immediately kicked herself mentally for thinking such thoughts. _'What kind of stupidity is that?'_

"Um, I met him just after my interview with you," she said, her gaze unwavering from his.

"Is that so?" he asked. "However, not only are you an acquaintance of Deidara, but you happen to work for Uchiha Itachi, as well."

"Um, yes," she said, not exactly sure what his point was. She didn't think he knew the reason either.

"I hope none of this affects your work performance," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"No, it won't," she affirmed. She refused to let anything like that affect how she did her job.

"Good." She nodded her good-bye before finally taking off to fetch someone else to clean the windows.

Sesshoumaru watched her go before turning to leave. Inuyasha would be returning from his honeymoon soon, so there were preparations that needed to be handled before then.

After turning the corner, Megumi slumped against the wall before curling up against it. She felt tears well up in her eyes. She actually caused trouble for Sesshoumaru, and that did not sit well with her. She felt so horrible for that. She was constantly a burden for everyone, but no matter how much she tried, she could not stop being so clumsy. Even the doctors were clueless on how to help her, saying there was nothing wrong with her posture or anything.

She let out a small sob as she shoved her face into her hands. Why couldn't she do anything right?!

* * *

**Okay, no more Deidara for awhile, I'm going to focus on Itachi and Sesshoumaru! Those two are what I was going to go with in the first place, darn it! Actually, this was going to be just an ItaOC, but when I needed a second party, Sesshoumaru came to mind so I went with that. Like how I needed a third party and Deidara was what I decided on. I don't know about the rest of you, but I loved the scene with Kagura. Not because it was well-written (because it's not), but because it gave me more of a plot to work with! I was so excited! Anyway, you will see characters like Inuyasha, Kagome, Naruto, and even Sakura, so hold on for the ride. At least review! Anyone want to be my beta?**

**Please please please please please please please please please PLEASE _PLEASE PLEASE_ vote! I can't decide on who I want to "win"! So far, Sesshoumaru is in the lead! Don't vote on who you want to "win" the girl... That's stupid! Vote for which character you like more: Sesshoumaru, Itachi, Deidara, or none of them.**


	3. Sesshoumaru's Temporary Secretary

_She let out a small sob as she shoved her face into her hands. Why couldn't she do anything right?!_

This was a problem.

Rin had called out sick and said that the doctor wanted her to remain in bed for the next week. This put Sesshoumaru in a bind because Rin demanded that he choose someone to be her replacement and help him. He didn't need the help, but when Rin threatened that if he didn't find someone by the next day, it didn't matter how sick she was, she was going to come to work.

Yes, this was definitely a problem.

As overprotective as Sesshoumaru was, Rin was equally as stubborn, so if he wanted her to remain at home and rest, he would have to find a temporary replacement for the time being. However, that was where the problem lay. There was no one already under his employ who were qualified for the job. He had already contemplated asking Inuyasha for his secretary, but he knew that it would only end badly. After all, it wasn't like he and his half-brother got along. Asking for Inuyasha's secretary for the day would surely spur questions, questions that Sesshoumaru didn't feel like answering.

No, that definitely wouldn't end well.

So as he flipped through the paper work of every employee in the building, his eyes settled on one in particular. She was Itachi's secretary at the moment, but surely the young business man could handle things on his own for just a week. With a heavy sigh, he picked up the phone and dialed the number to Itachi's office.

After several rings, a familiar feminine voice picked up the phone.

"Thank you for calling Akatsuki Inc., Uchiha Itachi's office, Takahashi Megumi speaking," she said as cheerfully as she could. She was panting as if she were out of breath.

"Megumi-san, this is Sesshoumaru," he said. He could've sworn he heard her gasp. "I need to speak with Uchiha-san immediately."

"Yes, hold on a moment, let me get him for you, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said. Back at Akatsuki Inc., she made sure that she didn't hang up on him and put him on hold. She had been late to work that morning because the bus she had been riding broke down and she didn't have the money to take a cab, and she wasn't one to borrow someone's bike, so she ran all the way to work. She carefully reached for a button to speak to Itachi.

"Uchiha-san," she said. "Taisho-sama wishes to speak to you. He's on line one." There was a quiver in her voice—other than the one that meant she was out of breath (that girl had the worst kind of luck)—that made Itachi wonder why she sounded so fearful.

"Thank you, Takahashi-san," he replied before he picked up the phone. "This is Uchiha Itachi." His voice was as monotone as he could make it.

"Uchiha-san, I am need of your cooperation," said an equally monotone voice. Itachi had never met the man, but he had heard that he was ruthless when it came to business. Itachi vaguely wondered what he could want. Taisho Corp. and Akatsuki Inc. hardly ever dealt with each other, and when they did, it was about weaponry, Deidara's forte.

"What is it?" asked Itachi.

"My secretary is ill, and she 'requests' that I have a replacement for her," said Sesshoumaru. "However, I have no one in my current employ that has the qualifications required to do so, except for Takahashi-san."

Itachi thought for a moment. "So you need her to take the rest of the week off from Akatsuki Inc. so she can work for you," he replied. He felt a small smile spread across his face, but her quickly suppressed it. He might actually get some work done now. No more spilled coffee? No more missing papers?! He could get used to that again.

"Yes," said Sesshoumaru.

"All right, I'll have her take the rest of the week off and send her to you," said Itachi. "I should warn you that she's not exactly..." he struggled for a moment to find the correct word, "coordinated."

"Yes, I know," said Sesshoumaru. "She's caused more than a few accidents here."

"I beg your pardon, but you've been known to be ruthless with your employees," said Itachi. "Why haven't you fired her yet?"

"Rin, my secretary, has begged me not to," said Sesshoumaru. It was true that there was some sort of relationship between Sesshoumaru and his secretary. Albeit, a strange one, but still...

"I see," said Itachi. "Well, in any case, she should be there within the hour."

"Good," replied Sesshoumaru before hanging up. Itachi stretched before standing up. He silently wondered what it would be like to have the girl gone from his office. It would certainly be more quiet. He would actually get things done around here, instead of worrying about his secretary. He wouldn't have to worry about her being late, or losing documents, or spilling coffee. He wouldn't see her smile in the morning. He wouldn't see her blush from embarrassment when she did something stupid.

Itachi shook himself from his current train of thought. He wouldn't miss her, he told himself. He wouldn't miss her...

"Takahashi-san," he said as he approached her, startling her out of her daze. She had been wondering what Sesshoumaru had wanted when Itachi suddenly appeared next to her. Her response was so violent, she nearly fell out of her chair.

"Yes, Uchiha-san," she said as she tried to steady herself.

"You need to take the rest of the week off," said Itachi, ignoring her near blunder, which was hard to do. "Taisho-sama's secretary is ill and isn't allowed to work for the next week. Taisho-sama has asked you to take her place temporarily for the week."

"Oh, um, okay," she said nervously, almost not believing her own ears. "Um, what about you?" Itachi nearly felt like snapping at her.

"I was doing fine before you came," he said. "I'll be fine without you."

"Oh, yes, you're right," she said sadly. She didn't mean to make him mad at her. "All right then, I'll see you next week." She smiled softly at him. Itachi just turned around and went back into his office.

Megumi let out a small sigh. They had been working together for about a month now, but they still were unable to see eye to eye. She wanted to get through just one day—just _one—_without Itachi getting frustrated with her, but she figured it was just unattainable. She quickly gathered up her things and headed out. However, on the way to the elevator, she ran into someone, not literally fortunately.

"Deidara-san," she called quietly. He turned to her and a small smile spread across his lips. They hadn't been able to spend a lot of time together because of Megumi's slightly hectic schedule, but when they did spend time together, they had plenty of fun.

"Megumi, how have you been, hm?" he asked.

"I'm all right," she replied. "I'm heading over to Taisho Corp. right now."

"Why, hm?"

"Taisho-sama's secretary is ill, and so he called and asked me to be her replacement for the week," she said.

"Oh, so that means that you'll have more time this week," said Deidara.

"Yes, I suppose so," Megumi replied with a slight blush. The times that they had been able to see each other had been enjoyable, but Megumi had been unwilling to open up to Deidara. It was probably because she was still wary of her broken heart.

She sighed as the elevator doors opened on the first floor. It wasn't that her heart had been broken by somebody else. She knew that much. She was done trying to put the blame on everyone else. All the pain she had ever gone through was her own fault. She had accepted that. It had been her own stupidity that had brought her here. Now she would just have to find her way back out.

Perhaps Deidara would be the one to hold the torch to lead her out...

She looked out the window of the bus as she watched the people and buildings blur by. She wasn't sure she was ready to face the past yet, but for Deidara's sake, for whom she found herself caring for, she would do it. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and a memory fluttered across her mind.

"_Oi! Naraku!" A soft smile spread across his face as he was tackled by his good friend._

"_Hey, Megumi-san," he said softly as he wrapped his arms around her. She glared up at him._

"_I told you not to use honorifics, baka!" she shouted teasingly. His smile broadened, making her heart flutter in her chest._

"_I'm sorry," he said. "Megumi."_

She felt something wet dripping onto her hands which were placed in her lap. It took her a moment to realize that they were her tears. She violently rubbed them only away only to find more pouring from her eyes nonstop until she finally gave into her tears and began to sob. How could she have lost such a valuable friend so willingly?

"Ah, what a perfectly sad expression," someone beside her sighed. Megumi sniffed, looking up at the person sitting next to her. "Such emotion, I wish I had my pen and paper."

A young woman was sitting next to her. She was wearing a cream colored t-shirt, some worn out pair of jeans, a pair of old sneakers, and a weather worn jacket.

"Who are you?" Megumi asked.

"No one in particular," said the stranger, "but you can call me Mimi for now. So what's the matter? Boy trouble?"

"Not exactly," replied Megumi.

"Then what are you crying about?" asked Mimi. "Most girls, when they cry, it's about a boy. They were cheated on, the guy they liked didn't like them back, they found they didn't feel that they loved him... the list goes on, I tell you."

"No, I broke his heart," she said.

"One of the more rarer cases, I'll admit," replied Mimi nonchalantly.

"This happened a couple of years ago," said Megumi, "but I still can't face it." There was a sudden sharp pain in the back of her head. It took her a moment to realize that this stranger, Mimi, had hit her. "What was that for?!"

"The past hurts, doesn't it?" asked Mimi. Megumi rolled her.

"Great, a stranger's going all Rafiki on me," she muttered.

"True," replied Mimi. "However, you have to admit that he did have a point when he said, 'you can either run from it, or learn from it!' I don't think it's a matter of facing it. More like accepting it and moving on."

"Okay, now I'm weirded out," said Megumi.

"Hey, I'm just making an observation from what you've told me," said Mimi. "Besides, I've heard that it's easier said then done, seriously. I'm sure that there are plenty of guys looking at you with at least _some_ interest." Megumi laughed as she wiped away her remaining tears. She never thought she would find someone who could cheer her up so easily.

"Thank you," said Megumi as she got up to leave. The bus had finally arrived at her stop. "I feel much better now."

"Right," said Mimi. "And remember, you may have a bad day today, but on the bright side, there's another one coming tomorrow!"

Megumi stepped off the bus with a happy sigh, much different from the melancholy from before. All traces of sadness were gone, and she was not even anxious about the fact that she was about to work for Sesshoumaru as his secretary. It was rare for her to have such a random, happy meeting with a total stranger that she didn't feel the need to ruin it for herself.

With a skip in her step, Megumi made her way up the building until she found herself at Sesshoumaru's door to his office. She knocked quietly and heard him mutter for her to come in. He was working on his laptop diligently when he noticed her.

"There are some papers on the desk I want you to fill out and then hand them to me," he said. "When you do bring them in, get me some more coffee." Not once did his voice falter from the usual monotone, but Megumi only smiled and left. Sitting down at Rin's desk, she began to go through the paper work, filling out what she knew.

* * *

"You really know how to pick 'em, don't you?"

The usually crowded expensive bar was unusually quiet this afternoon. It was the perfect place to discuss such trivial matters. Kagura was sitting at the bar, lazily leaning against it with an empty shot glass in her hand. She normally didn't drink this early in the day, but the occasion simply called for it. The young man sitting next to her took a sip out of his own glass. He had on a dark purple tux that almost appeared black. His eyes were so bright a brown that in the correct lighting, they almost appeared red. His long wavy dark hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. On any other man, it would have appeared creepy, but on him it fit perfectly.

Despite his cold and emotionless expression, Kagura knew what exactly was boiling beneath the surface.

"I do not know what you mean," he replied.

"Well, first Megumi," said Kagura, "I won't even go there, and then Kanna gets caught with another man, and now you find your once beloved Megumi in the arms of another man. Again, I might add." She reached for the magazine that was laying on the counter top. It was the same magazine that Itachi had been fuming over not long ago. On the cover, Deidara of Akatsuki Inc. was leading in a young woman into one of the most prestigious restaurants in the city. The young girl was clinging to his arm with a content look on her face.

"I told her to move on," he said, not loosing his monotone voice. "It does not surprise me that she has done so."

"Ah, but you cannot deny that you are angry that she did," said Kagura. The young man didn't respond. "The divorce with Kanna is almost over, you can still find her and ask her. If, of course, you're willing to put yourself in that kind of situation again."

Again, the young man did not respond, merely stared at his glass. Kagura grinned wickedly as the bartender poured her another drink. "It was nice to see her squirm when I gave her the proposition. Deidara reacted almost violently."

"Let it go," the young man said in reference to the proposition. "I'll buy you a new dress."

"Oh please," Kagura sighed rolling her eyes. "First of all, she and I had an agreement. Men aren't the only ones who have honor, you know, and secondly, you have no control over what she and I do. You cannot protect her from herself."

"I will try," said the young man as his gaze turned to her. "Despite what she's done, and the time we've been apart, I want her back. So much it hurts."

"Wow, you really are a fool, Naraku," said Kagura, shaking her head. "Of course, she would be a bigger fool if she refuses you. Anyone who is as willing to forgive her for her stupidity of her caliber like that would be someone she would want to keep."

"Kagura, you would do well to cease your insults," the man named Naraku growled. "Even if she refuses, I want to at least be friends once again."

"Yes, though I doubt she could refuse," said Kagura. "In any case, I'm not going to drop this proposition with her. She will either give me her address or buy me a new dress, and that's final."

"Your boyfriend could easily buy you a new one, you know," said Naraku.

"True, but you did say you wanted to see her again," said Kagura. "I'm just helping you out, and as soon as she sees the dress I picked out, there is no way she won't give me her address."

Kagura placed her glass back down on the table and stood to leave. She looked back at the man, shaking her head. "You really need to get a grip." With that sneer, she left.

"Oh, sure, leave me to pick up the tab," Naraku grumbled. He looked back at the magazine that Kagura had just been looking at. His blood began to boil at the sight of his old friend holding the arm of another man. With a growl, he tore off the cover page and ripped the picture right down the middle, right between the two supposed lovers.

* * *

"This is not how I wanted my first day as his secretary to go," she said as she headed out to the parking lot. After spilling black coffee on his white suit, Megumi found herself begging for forgiveness on her knees when Sesshoumaru gave her the keys to his car and one of his credit cards. He had told her to go get in his car and buy him a new suit within the hour, and to make sure that the suit was black this time.

So now here she was, holding his keys and credit card like they were some sort of religious objects that were meant to be held with care. However, after realizing, one, who she was, and two, what she was holding, she quickly placed the credit card in a special pocket and held onto the keys. When she did get out to the parking lot, she found his car easily enough since there was a designated spot for him. Immediately, she was blinded by it's glory.

There it sat in his spot, a silver Lamborghini Concept S. She nearly wanted to take out her phone to call and tell him that she was going to take a bus. She was too lowly to even look at such a vehicle, much less _drive_ it! Still, she unlocked the door and slid on inside. She carefully started the car and looked around. The interior was so high tech, she was almost certain that one of those buttons were for the wings of the vehicle.

"I feel like I just jumped into the bat mobile," she muttered as she shifted into first gear, thanked her father for teaching her how to drive a stick, and left for the nearest suit store.

Up at the top floor, Sesshoumaru was finishing up his work that he had been on when Megumi had ceremoniously poured coffee all over his suit. He had been frustrated, especially when he realized that he had no change of clothes. His maid normally made sure that he left with an extra set everyday, so of course she had to forget this day, the day Rin was ill, the day he picked possibly the most clumsiest woman ever to be her replacement, the day he had coffee spilled all over him.

"I seriously doubt that woman could stand on a flat surface absolutely still and not find some way to fall over," he growled. Sesshoumaru noticed the magazine sitting on his desk, remembering when Rin had brought it to his attention.

"_Oh my gosh! Sesshoumaru-sama!" a shrill voice cried from outside his doors._

"_What is it now Rin?" he asked as the young woman practically bounded into his office holding a magazine to her chest._

"_Remember that new cleaning girl you interviewed?" she asked._

"_Hn," he replied._

"_Well, look, she's on the cover!" she cried shoving the magazine in his face. Sure enough, there she was, clinging to the arm of a business man from Akatsuki Inc._

"_And...?" he asked. Rin pouted. She should have known he wouldn't care._

"_I had no idea she had such connections," she continued as she laid the magazine on the desk. "What do you think?"_

"_It does not matter what my employees do in their free time as long as it doesn't endanger my company," said Sesshoumaru. Rin rolled her eyes before she marched out of his office. He really never understood that girl._

Out of curiosity, he picked up the old magazine and flipped through the pages until he found the article he was looking for.

_When we heard that Orochimaru, the owner of his own labs, were to show up that night, we were not expecting someone from Akatsuki Inc. to suddenly make an appearance. Deidara, manager of the military tech department, showed up with a young woman on his arm. Sources say that she is an ordinary girl off the streets, and plenty of bloggers and fans say that he is just trying something new from all the super models and gold-diggers._

_However, most of Deidara's loyal fan base is quite in an uproar over Deidara's new girlfriend. One blogger made the comment about how she was "too ornery and plain for someone like Deidara. Quite frankly, she looks like someone who could be my next door neighbor and I would never know."_

_Other sources say that she is in fact the newly hired secretary of Uchiha Itachi, and that she was using Deidara to worm her way into such a high position at Akatsuki Inc._

Sesshoumaru let out a quiet snort. Megumi wasn't smart enough to pull something like that. The very idea was ludicrous.

_Of course, this only made the Uchiha Itachi fan base equally as upset as the Deidara fan base. "How could someone so normal, like her," complains one fan, "ever even get that close to Itachi-san! It doesn't make sense!"_

_Well, she has certainly caused an uproar, but how long will this lovely couple last? They seem to be in love, but is that just a show for the rest of us? What's lying beneath the surface of this relationship? Are they really in love?_

Sesshoumaru immediately closed the magazine, angry with himself for getting distracted. He didn't have time to look at such unimportant things. Who cared if they were in love or not? He really wanted nothing to do with the girl! She wasn't very bright. She couldn't stand on her feet for more than a few moments. She wasn't very pretty.

Basically she had nothing going for her.

And yet... There was something about her, even he couldn't deny that much. She was real. She wasn't fake like the models or the sexy women that most men indulged in. She was tangible. She was an everyday average woman. That was what made her so special. She had her blinding faults like everyone else. All those women that Sesshoumaru had dated had all been artificial, as if they weren't really there.

Megumi, however, she wasn't perfect, and that was what made her real. She had flaws both physically and mentally. She faced challenges that he never even dreamed existed because of her lot in life.

He was brought out of his musings when the doors to his office opened to reveal the young woman he was just thinking about. He simply stared at her stoically. She held in her hand a nice black suit with a gray tie around the collar. She was holding it up so it didn't drag on the floor. She approached the desk carefully.

"Here are your keys," she started as she laid each item down on his desk, "your credit card, the receipt, and here's the suit." She held the suit up a little higher. "When you're done, do you want me to take that suit to the cleaners?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," he said standing up and heading for the restroom. "I'm surprised that you did not wreck my car or anything."

"No, I didn't," she said. "Thanks for your absolute faith in me though." Sesshoumaru was almost surprised to hear sarcasm from her. Did that mean she was warming up to him? Ridiculous!

"Get back to work," he snapped. She jumped and hurried back to her desk to finish up more of the paperwork given to her.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

He took one last glance at her before leaving. Not long after he left however, the elevator door opened to reveal someone Megumi had been hoping she wouldn't see for a long time. Kagura's eyes instantly fixated on her.

"You!" she shouted at Megumi. "What are you doing here?!"

"Um... I... uh... I'm filling in for Taisho-sama's secretary while she's sick," said Megumi timidly. Kagura's eyes narrowed.

"So how long will she be out?" sneered Kagura.

"For about a week," Megumi responded. "Have you picked out a dress for me to buy for you?"

"Not yet," said Kagura, "but I'll keep my eyes open. Is Sesshoumaru-sama in now?"

Megumi shook her head. "No, he's changing his outfit as we speak." Kagura glared as she approached the temporary secretary.

"What did you do?" she hissed. Megumi flushed, still wondering what Kagura was doing here.

"I-I spilled coffee on him," she said. "He had me go buy him a new suit." The gorgeous woman resisted the urge to strangle the young girl before her.

"You what?!" she shouted.

"Kagura, that's enough," said a velvety voice that could only belong to Sesshoumaru. "It was an accident. There is nothing to get upset over."

"She spilled spaghetti all over me!" shouted Kagura. "How can you forgive her so easily? You are not like that with any of your other employees!"

"That's enough, Kagura," Sesshoumaru said again. "She will take my old suit to the cleaners." It was at this moment that Megumi realized that he may actually look better in black than in white.

Kagura then turned to Megumi. "You still owe me a new dress," she spat, "or you could give me your address?"

"No, I will buy you a new dress," said Megumi sadly. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at the two of them.

"What is this about?" he asked.

"She spilled spaghetti all over me, and to pay for it, I'm making her buy a new dress for me," said Kagura.

"She could never afford anything you would pick out," said Sesshoumaru.

_'That's the point,'_ Kagura thought wickedly.

"You will not make her," said Sesshoumaru, wiping that smirk right off of Kagura's face.

"What?" she asked.

"I will buy you a new one," he stated.

"No, she and I made an agreement," said Kagura. "This is between us, Sesshoumaru, don't interfere."

"I'm afraid I can't allow it," said Sesshoumaru. "She will have to ask for more work hours, and that's something I cannot allow."

"It's okay, Sesshoumaru-sama," Megumi said. "It's my fault, and I will not impose on anyone. Deidara wanted to pay for the dress, himself, but I refused."

"Yes," said Kagura. "So I won't have my boyfriend interfering either." Megumi choked.

"Boyfriend?!" Sesshoumaru glared at her as he stepped past her.

"Did you think that this Sesshoumaru was incapable of dating anyone?" he asked with a dangerous glare.

_'Hey, you said it, not me.'_ "No, of course not. I'm just surprised is all."

Sesshoumaru merely huffed before stepping back into his office, Kagura on his heels. As soon as the door closed, Megumi felt jealousy well up inside her and tears gather at the edge of her eyes.

_'No! I have Deidara! I'm happy with Deidara! There's no reason for me to feel this way, you stupid fangirl!'_

* * *

Megumi left Taisho Corp. a little depressed. She had been sitting at Rin's desk all day inwardly yelling at herself as she tried to finish her work. So with a heavy sigh, she stepped out of the building and headed for the bus stop. Suddenly, a young woman with an expensive looking business suit came rushing up to her.

_Oh, great, more random meetings with total strangers._

"Excuse me," she said with an obviously fake, yet still brilliant smile. "Do you work at Taisho Corp.?"

"Uh, yes," said Megumi.

"Hi, my name is Matsushita Kyoko, I work for a magazine called _Scandalous_," she said. "Aren't you Deidara's girlfriend?"

"Yes I am, but I don't think there's anything scandalous behind that," said Megumi with a bit of humor in her voice.

"Oh, no, I actually was wondering if you work rather close with Taisho-sama," said Kyoko.

"Well, right now I do," replied Megumi.

"Then, you would know if he and Kagura are dating," she said excitedly.

"Excuse me?"

"There have been rumors about it for months, but Taisho-sama has not only been reluctant to admit the relationship, he's covered it up so well that we can't find any proof," Kyoko explained. "Think you can help us out? You would be paid handsomely for your assistance."

Megumi looked thoughtful a moment. She was wondering why Sesshoumaru had his relationship with Kagura hidden when they had been so open with her about it. Perhaps there was a reason, but she certainly didn't see it. Besides, this was a perfect opportunity for her to get money for the dress.

"All right, I'll do it," she said. "On one condition, I remain anonymous in anything that you publish about this."

"Of course," said Kyoko. "Now, tell me what you know."

* * *

**Wow... I didn't think my character was that stupid! Not only is she about to do something potentially hazardous to her job and emotional wellbeing, she's betraying Sesshoumaru's trust. A little example of how foolish she can really be, I suppose. Anyway, I'd like to thank those few of you that took their precious time to review. You have no idea how happy they make me. I would also like to thank MimiMika for betaing. We had some trouble, but anyway...**

**Still, I need you all to go to my profile and vote! My brain hurts from trying to decide on my own! So far, Sesshoumaru is in the lead! Normally, I let the story run it's own course, but imput on who should win would be most appreciated. If you're not a member, put your vote in your anonymous review and you will be counted, I promise. Also, if you're too lazy (like me) to log in and vote, go ahead and put you're vote in your review, each vote will be counted.**

**And, for those of you who aren't lazy and wish to criticize, Mimi will actually play a role later. 'Nuff said...**

**Review and vote please!**


	4. A Dress and a Big Problem

Megumi was growing more anxious by the moment. Something was telling her this was a very bad idea, but she was determined to get the money for her problem. She couldn't ask anyone for help. She watched as Kyoko pulled out her cell phone and called her boss. After several minutes, Kyoko directed Megumi to her car parked on the side of the road.

"So tell me," said Kyoko. "Are they dating?"

"Yes, but I don't understand why it would be so bad if everyone found out about their relationship," Megumi replied.

"That's just it," said Kyoko. "Everyone suspects the relationship, but it's not the relationship itself that has everyone curious. The reason why they hide it so well must mean something big. Perhaps it has something to do with Kagura's job at Shikon Jewelers."

"Shikon Jewelers?"

"They are well known for their art at making jewelry and their fine products are sold world wide at prices you couldn't even dream of," said Kyoko. "Kagura is in charge of the department that collects the materials needed to make such jewelry. Taisho Corp. has been interested in the areas that have these products and are probably trying to buy them from Shikon Jewelers. What easier way to get through than by using Kagura?"

"I don't know," said Megumi. "I don't think that's it."

"Oh please, you've met Kagura, right?" asked Kyoko. Megumi nodded. "Do you really believe that the cold-hearted Sesshoumaru-sama is honestly in love with her?"

"Well, no, but that doesn't mean it's not impossible," replied Megumi. "I mean, I've never seen them together, but..."

"Well anyway," said Kyoko. "Do you know if they are going out tonight? If they are, where?"

Megumi remembered overhearing Sesshoumaru's conversation with Kagura. She did in fact hear where they were going for the night. Kagura and Sesshoumaru had been discussing several things, but she had been to busy yelling at herself inwardly to notice. The only thing she did hear after her inner ramblings were where they were going.

"They said they were going to the Plaza," said Megumi. The Plaza was famous for its food and romantic atmosphere, but it was also notorious for its steep prices and how difficult it was to get a reserved seating.

"That's good enough," cried Kyoko. "This'll be the scoop of the year. Sesshoumaru was ranked as the number one's hottest business man. Him dating anyone would cause probably the biggest uproar among his female fans since Rin became his secretary." Megumi nodded, remembering how all her girlfriends were up in arms about Sesshoumaru having a female secretary.

_'That man does anything wrong, and the whole female population is up in arms about it,' _she thought. _'I hate to see him get married. His wife will have to have a secret bunker.'_

"So, where do I go to get my money?" asked Megumi.

"I'll take you there now," said Kyoko. "My boss wants to have a word with you anyway."

Within moments, Megumi found herself at the bottom of a fairly large building. This was where not only _Scandalous_ was printed, but the Daily Tokyo was printed. Hesitantly, Megumi stepped in to find an older man with long white hair waiting for her. He had a huge grin plastered on his face, and he looked like he was ready to pounce on the next woman he saw.

"Excuse me?" said Megumi. "Are you Jiraiya-san?"

"Why yes I am!" he laughed. "And you are?"

"Takahashi Megumi, sir," she replied holding out her hand. It was swallowed by his enormous one as he shook it.

"A real pleasure to meet you, Megumi-san," he laughed again. "It's quite a shame you are already taken!" Megumi automatically blushed at the comment.

"Now tell me," he began. "What exactly have you seen of Sesshoumaru's relationship with Kagura?"

"Not much really, I just found out today," she replied. He put his hand on his chin as if he were in deep thought.

"Well, that's a shame," he muttered. "I was hoping to get some real dirt on him."

"You are very brave to do such a thing," Megumi commented.

"I thought so too," he laughed. "A lot of people said it was foolish to try, but I'm as big a fool as they come!"

"I see," said Megumi. "How much will I be paid?"

"Ah, yes, I have the check here." He carefully handed her the sheet of paper. Her eyes went wide when she saw the numbers printed on the front.

"You like what you see?" he asked.

"Yes," said Megumi, breathlessly.

"Well, thank you for your assistance," said Jiraiya. "Don't worry, your identity is safe."

"Thank you."

* * *

Kagura was absolutely furious as she waited for Megumi to show up at the designated store. Despite the fact that she was about to torture Megumi to her hearts content, the night before had been absolutely embarrassing. She had yet to find out who on earth had leaked such information to the press. The fact was that their dating was only the beginning of a line of secrets. Secrets that could not only destroy Taisho Corp. and Shikon Jewelers, but also the other businesses that were also involved: Akatsuki Inc., Hokage Industries, and even Orochimaru and his laboratories would be in danger.

However, that was a story for another day. Whoever had revealed their secret was obviously either very brave, or very foolish. Sesshoumaru had been absolutely enraged, and was currently interrogating everyone who might have given such information away.

"Kagura-san!" a voice cried, causing her to rouse herself from her infuriated reverie. She glared at the young woman as she approached.

"Took you long enough," Kagura snapped. "Let me show you what I've picked out!"

"Yes ma'am," said Megumi as she followed the richer woman into the building. They wandered through the clothes, Kagura leading the way knowing what it was she wanted. Of course, Megumi was too absorbed in the scenery to notice that Kagura had finally stopped, making her run straight into the already irritable woman.

"Watch where you're going!" Kagura shouted.

"S-Sorry," Megumi muttered as she backed away from the woman who was now giving her a death glare, daring her to make a wrong move. Megumi just stood stock still and waited patiently for Kagura to show her the dress.

Finally, Kagura pulled out the dress and handed it to her. It was a dark crimson sleeveless dress with a flowing sarong style skirt opened up to the left thigh. It was the kind of sexy dress Kagura would wear. Megumi's eyes widened when she saw the price tag, making Kagura smirk. She was sure the young poor girl would be unable to afford such a price.

However, Megumi's eyes did not widen out of surprise for the price of the dress, but by how little it was compared to the money that she had been paid for the information she had given out the night before. She could buy this dress three times over if she wanted. Hesitantly, she looked up at Kagura.

"Do you want it now?" she asked.

"Yes, or you give me your address," said Kagura with a wicked smile Megumi nodded and took the dress.

"Okay, they take checks here, right?" she asked. Kagura stared at her, absolutely dumbfounded. Did the girl actually believe she was capable of affording such a dress?

Kagura's eyes widened noticeably as she stared at the young woman she currently followed to the checkout station. Could this young foolish child actually have been so brave, so _stupid _enough to do such a thing? Could it have been her who had told the press where Kagura and Sesshoumaru were going last night? Surely the Daily Tokyo would have payed handsomely for such information, especially since they were also the publishers of _Scandalous. _Kagura knew that this girl was stupid, but she didn't think she was _that_ stupid.

Kagura was seething with such anger that her face was starting to turn red. Takahashi Megumi was going to pay. Yes, pay so dearly that it would be painful for her to walk out the door. Kagura of Shikon Jewelers was going to make Takahashi Megumi's life as miserable as she could possibly make it, and as soon as this was done, Kagura was going to go to Taisho Corp. and dig up Megumi's information.

Kagura snatched the dress right after Megumi was finished paying for it. Megumi bowed graciously, unknowing of the current wrath that Kagura was soon to dispose upon her. Kagura let out a snarl.

"Prepare for the worst time of your life," she hissed before walking away. Megumi shuddered, not yet realizing what she had done this time to make the young woman so mad when her Iphone began to ring.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey!" came the voice on the other end. "How's it going, hm?"

"Oh, hey Deidara-san?" she said. "Did you want something?"

"Um, yes actually," he replied. "The board is going to a party at the Riverbed club tonight. You wanna come with me, hm?" he asked.

"Oh, sure!" Megumi smiled as she began to look around at the other dresses. "Is there anything else you wanted?"

"What color are you going to wear, hm?" he asked.

"Um, I'll think I'll be wearing black." Megumi pulled out one particular dress that caught her eye. It wasn't as pricey as Kagura's dress was, but Megumi was naturally thrifty when it came to money. It was a filmy dress that came with a detachable under dress and an embroidery-trimmed flower petal hem. It wasn't flashy, but it was enough for her tastes.

"All right, black it is, hm," he replied.

"Okay, when will you pick me up?" she asked.

"Seven, hm."

"Okay, I'll be ready."

* * *

She was ready when he knocked on her door. She was wearing her pretty black dress with black high-heels. The top half of her hair had been pulled back into a tight bun and the rest of it fell over her shoulders in sweet little waves of curls. Her make-up was simply done and she looked very pretty in her own simple way. Deidara smiled as he handed her a full bouquet of red roses. Without a second thought, she took them and found a vase for them.

"All right, I think I'm ready," she said before Deidara dragged her out the door to his car. This time he didn't have his usual stretch Hummer. Rather, he had his little black mustang waiting for them. Megumi grinned as he put the top down.

"So where is this club?" she asked. "And who else is going to be there?"

"Down the street, hm. The whole board was invited, so all of them plus their dates along with some friends of the company, hm. Itachi will be there too of course, hm."

"Ah, maybe I'll ask how work was without me," Megumi sighed. It didn't take long for them to get there, throngs of paparazzi waiting for them already. Deidara carefully lead Megumi out of the mustang, handing the keys over to the valet.

When they walked in, a few people acknowledged their presence, but no one turned their heads, except Itachi. It had only been a few days, but he sort of wanted to catch a glimpse of his secretary. Itachi was surprised to see that she actually looked rather stunning in her black dress.

Ino, Itachi's date, tugged on his sleeve, hoping to drag his attention away from her brother and his girlfriend. She was watching, almost waiting, for Megumi to trip and fall, or do something humiliating. It seemed to work as Itachi begrudgingly dragged his eyes away from his secretary. Deidara had asked Itachi to take his younger sister to this little gathering, since Ino really wanted to go. He hadn't really been planning to go, but when he heard that Deidara was bringing Megumi, he decided to go with Ino. Deidara found it rather curious that Itachi would change his tune so quickly after hearing that the secretary he didn't want would be there.

Itachi had successfully used the excuse that he needed to see her concerning some important documents he noticed were missing (it wasn't until after he used the excuse when he found out it was true). Truth be told, Takahashi Megumi had settled herself very securely and very subtly in his mind. They hadn't been together long, but that was enough to get him to worry about her consistently. Something always went wrong every five seconds with her. Luckily, none of her missteps lost them money, so there was no real reason to fire her simply because she was the personification of clumsy.

When she had first left, Itachi was relieved. He sat in his office and finished his work ahead of schedule. Something that had never occurred during the month Megumi had occupied the desk right outside his office. However, his peace of mind did not last long. The next day, he had forgotten that she was not coming in. He figured she was just late and waited for her to come in panting and asking for forgiveness before he assigned her to her work.

It wasn't until an hour later that he remembered that she wasn't coming in that day, or the rest of the week. After silently cursing himself for several minutes out of frustration and embarrassment (and getting his fingers caught in the stapler twice, something only Megumi would do) he found himself only thinking of her... worriedly. Did she make it on time? Did she spill any coffee? Did she trip up the stairs? Did she lose any papers?

His worried thoughts about her kept whirling around in his head so fast he couldn't concentrate for more than a few moments. He tried every trick in the book, started a conversation with Kisame (or at least tried to before Kisame started asking certain questions), tried to think about what Ino was going to wear to the little party, he tried to think of situations that Tobi might get himself into, he tried everything he could think of, but in the end, all of his thoughts turned back to Megumi.

The party went on without a hitch, with the occasional expected misstep from Megumi, but other than that everything was going smoothly. Deidara would laugh off her blunders, and all the guests enjoyed themselves. Ino looked over at Itachi, hoping he would invite her to the dance floor.

Ino had met Itachi a few years ago when he had requested her older brother, Deidara, to join Akatsuki Inc. She had been immediately enchanted by him, as most women were. He was polite, proficient, intelligent, and all around every girl's dream guy. She did not fail to notice, however, the change in his demeanor after seeing her brother and Megumi, and it wasn't exactly a pleasant change.

She had only met Megumi once, but just once was enough to get a good impression from that clumsy girl. It was amazing how she was still alive at this point in her life. She was always in the wrong place, at the wrong time, doing the wrong thing. Ino vaguely wondered why Deidara would be interested in such a girl.

Oh, she knew why now, no doubts. She knew of the many women Deidara had before Megumi, and they had all been real... well, there was no nice way to say it. They all had bodies average women would kill for, conquests they could only brag about, etc. These were the kind of women that would seduce a man for money and/or power. Megumi wasn't smart enough (or attractive enough) to pull that. No, she wasn't ugly per say, but she didn't have the qualities most males were attracted to, and Ino could definitely say that her current partner, who was now staring at the couple she was referring to, was not—definitely _not—_most males.

She was never asked to the dance floor. Rather, she was dragged (although willingly) to it by her slightly irritated date. Itachi was desperately trying to keep his mind off of Megumi and her date. If he sat still for even a moment, he would immediately regret it as his thoughts would forcefully—against his will—turn toward her, that useless secretary of his. He forced himself to stare at his own date, taking in every detail of her face.

Deidara and Megumi were currently enjoying their time together. Tobi, Deidara's co-manager and partner, was extremely free spirited and humorous to Megumi. She had just been laughing at one of his jokes when Deidara grabbed her by the arm and led her to the dance floor. Her eyes widened when he put his arms around her and pulled her close, gently swaying them both to the music.

However, their romantic moment did not last long. Megumi was not graceful, nor was she coordinated. So, she ceremoniously stepped on Deidara's foot and drew back quickly in surprise and apology. Almost too quickly because she tripped over her feet and fell back, pulling Deidara down on top of her.

Itachi, who had been watching _the entire time_ (he himself couldn't believe it either. What happened to studying Ino?), had to swallow several times to suppress the growl threatening to escape his throat. Just the sight of Deidara on top of her was enough to make his blood boil. She _was_ his secretary, after all.

Ino sighed, very disappointed in the direction her date was going. She stopped, forcing Itachi to look down at her. She gently motioned that they go sit down and have a talk. Itachi blinked; the subtle confusion in his eyes made her want to sigh again. Finding a table, the two of them sat down. Ino was the first to speak.

"Itachi, Megumi is your secretary isn't she?"

"Yes," replied Itachi, already not appreciating where this was going.

"Well, what do you think of her?" asked Ino.

"She's the clumsiest person I have ever come across," said Itachi bluffly.

"Yes, how do you feel when you see her?"

"Irritated," he responded.

"Why do you feel irritated when you see her?" She wasn't training to be a psychologist for nothing.

"Hmph, I don't know," he replied. "What makes it weird is that is the first time I've ever felt irritated toward anybody in a very long time."

"Well, I don't know why you feel so irritated every time you see her either," said Ino. "That's not normally an emotion felt toward someone you love."

Itachi stared at Ino blankly, her words barely registering in his mind. "What?"

"Itachi, you are obviously in love with her. The whole time we were dancing, your eyes were glued to her. When she fell over and Deidara fell on top of her, I could see the flash of anger in your eyes."

"Ridiculous!" said Itachi standing up and walking away. He didn't care if it was rude at this point; there was no way he was even attracted to that skinny, stupid secretary of his. There was just no way.

* * *

Kagura felt a wicked grin stretch across her face as she stood before the towering building of Taisho Corp. She quickly and quietly unlocked the front doors. Turning off the alarm and locking the doors once again, she took several steps inside, a sense of pride in herself welling up in chest.

"All right," she whispered to herself. Without delay, she headed up the stairs until she hit the second to last floor. She found Inuyasha's office easily enough. It wasn't as large as Sesshoumaru's, but it was large in its own right. In front of his office sat Kagome's desk, with her computer still on. Kagura sat down at the computer and moved the mouse. A little box appeared asking for the password. Kagura merely smirked.

"Osuwari," she said as she typed it up. Sure enough, it let her in. She quickly found the files where all the employee information was held. With a practiced hand, she quickly found the file she was looking for. She pulled out her Blueberry and dialed a familiar number.

"Hey Naraku, you have a pen and paper handy?" she asked. "Get ready to write this down."

* * *

For the second time in one night, Uchiha Itachi was extremely irritated. Tobi had unwittingly approached Deidara and Megumi during a dance saying that there had been a fire at one of the plants that manufactured Akatsuki Inc.'s military weapons. It was too urgent for Deidara to take Megumi home first. He said his apologies, grabbed Ino and asked Itachi to take care of Megumi and make sure she got home safely.

Itachi had agreed, but as soon as the young man had bolted, the look on Megumi's face was so broken and disappointed that irritated Itachi to no end. She had forgiven him for having to leave her there, but that didn't mean she hadn't been disappointed that their date had been cut short.

Without really thinking about it, Itachi took Megumi's hands and started dancing with her. Her eyes widened at her boss. Why would he do such a thing? Itachi himself wasn't quite sure either. Although he repeatedly told himself he was just being polite. It wasn't proper to leave a young woman hanging like that after her date deserted her. Even if it was unintentional.

Megumi had been surprised to say the least. She and Itachi had not gotten along, so she figured he would have tried to avoid her. She shrugged it off and decided to make conversation.

"How has work been without me?" she asked.

"Fine," he lied. He still remembered his first day without her and how he ended up leaving late because he was so distracted by her absence. He was distracted when she wasn't there and when she was there.

"That's good," she sighed.

"The documents for project A38 are missing," he said. "I need to fill those out tomorrow." Megumi blushed, knowing full well what he was talking about.

"Yes sir," she replied.

The rest of the evening was actually fairly enjoyable. Megumi miraculously didn't have anymore mess ups, and the music was very nice. It wasn't until about 11 at night that people began to take their leave, including Megumi.

"Thank you for looking out for me, Itachi-san," she said with a small bow as she prepared to leave. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Would you like a ride?" he asked.

"Oh, no thank you," she replied. "I'll be okay. Again, thanks." Itachi nodded.

"You're welcome," he said as he watched her leave.

Megumi let out a sigh as she left the club. The paparazzi had left so she was safe in leaving the club. She headed down the street and waited for the bus, hoping they ran this late. Luckily, a bus pulled up. She smiled gratefully at the bus driver as she stepped on the bus.

"Hey, aren't you Deidara's girlfriend?" asked the bus driver.

"Uh, yes, I am," she replied hesitantly. Her heart ached a little. He had abandoned her a little early, but she couldn't blame him for it. It wasn't his fault that the plantation had caught on fire and he needed to be on the scene.

"So, what are you doing going home by yourself?" he asked. "You're dressed up quite nicely, so I assumed you were just on a date with him."

"Yes, I was," Megumi replied. "But something urgent came up and he had to leave."

"Ah, I see." It went silent again.

Megumi still didn't understand why Itachi had stepped in. They hadn't gotten along since day one, despite her efforts. She could still clearly remember his reaction the first time she spilled coffee all over his suit. He had been upset, to say the least, and sent her to his home to pick up a suit for him. The Uchiha complex had been huge. It had been hard to find Itachi's house.

She shook her head as the bus driver pulled up to her stop. She quietly thanked the bus driver before hoping off. She didn't see the dark purple Hybrid Prius sitting in front of her apartment building. She walked in without thinking. However, when she saw a man with long dark hair and a very, _very _familiar figure talking with one of the employees, she stopped dead in her tracks.

She didn't even bother to see if it really was him. She made a dash for the door, shot down the street, turned a corner and continued running for several blocks, tears stinging her eyes. When she finally found a place to stop and catch her breath, she let out a sob.

How did he find her? Who told him? Why was he there? Why when everything was going so smoothly did something have to go terribly wrong? She pulled out her phone, her loud sobs racking her body. She dialed a number she was familiar with and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Itachi," she whimpered. "Help me..."

* * *

**Well, this was shorter than usual, but I didn't want to go any further because that would mean I couldn't make you all wait for the whole Itachi/Megumi stuff. (Muahahahahahahahahah!) Anyway, no one's voting! Why is no one voting? It's dead even right now, and it's making me mad!**

**Oh, and for those of you who care, yes, bluffly is a word... I know! I was stunned too. XD**

**Review and VOTE PLEASE!!! I'm begging you!!!!! VOTE!!!**


	5. The Big Problem Gets Bigger

Naraku waited patiently in front of the designated apartment building he had been directed to. He had taken one look inside and immediately pitied his former lover and the situation she was forcing herself into. Did she really feel so horrible for what she had done?

She obviously didn't let the wound to her heart fester, though. No, that wouldn't be like her. No, she was trying to overcome her faults instead of wallowing in them. That wasn't how it was for him. When he had let her go, the wound never closed, never even started to heal. He had met his wife Kanna a few months after the fact. In a desperate attempt to forget the woman that haunted his dreams, he pretended to love Kanna, tried to make her "the replacement." Unfortunately, Kanna figured it out and sought out comfort from other men. After a seemingly endless battle, they both came to the conclusion that they just didn't love each other, so they went on pretending for the public while keeping their own affairs in the dark. It was a secret between the both of them.

It hadn't been him that had been discovered. A photographer had caught Kanna with another man. He didn't touch another woman—_couldn't_ touch another woman—afraid that he would only hurt himself, ore her, in the end. He was still attached to his first love., after all. To please the media, they had divorced, which was not unwelcome on his part. He had just about enough of the emotionless woman.

He had constantly compared her to the woman of his dreams. Why didn't she smile like Megumi? Why didn't she laugh like Megumi? Why couldn't she cry like Megumi? Why didn't she have Megumi's short attention span?

Inevitably, he came to the same conclusion every time. It was the reason he was standing outside her apartment building.

He was irrevocably in love with Takahashi Megumi.

The vibrations in his pants' pockets brought him out of his reverie. It was nearly eleven, Megumi's self-inflicted curfew. She always made sure she was home by eleven, no excuses. Her father had been the one to enforce that habit, and she had complied willingly. He saw little reason of her breaking that habit now.

Ah, yes, he had to fall in love with someone so innocent, someone so blissfully unaware of the real world, despite what had occurred between them two to three years prior. In this case, however, it was a rather good thing she went home at this time, convenient, one might say. It gave him the perfect opportunity to catch her and talk to her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and kiss her senseless.

So why wasn't she here yet?

Suddenly, an image of her and her current lover came unbidden into his mind. He clenched his fist and teeth as he let out a vicious growl. How he wished he could tear that man limb from limb for even thinking of standing in her presence, let alone touch her in any sensual manner.

He took a deep breath, trying to force himself to be calm. It was very unlikely that was occurring now. Megumi was far too pure to allow anything like that to happen, and if the man cared for her at all, he wouldn't touch her like that for fear of tainting her. She had been absolutely horrified at seeing him without a shirt on after she had spilled soda all over it, as an example...

Yes, she was (and will always be) that innocent.

A part of him had always wondered what might have happened if he had tainted that sweet innocence of hers, but every time he had the opportunity, he'd chicken out. He really loved her too much to do that to her. To taint something as blindingly white as she was a sin even he was unwilling to commit. Although he often wondered how she avoided it in this world.

Perhaps part of it was the fact that she lived in one of the few almost perfect families in the world. The parents got along well and the siblings... were siblings... Basically she had been born into a typical family with normal problems. The only thing out of the ordinary was her unique coordination, or lack thereof.

Naraku shook himself back to the present, not wanting to dwell on the past any longer as he dialed a familiar number. After the first two rings, there was a click, and then silence.

At least that's all he heard at first until a loud moan filled his right ear.

"Hello?" moaned a feminine voice.

"Kagura?" said Naraku, not sure how to continue after _that. _Although the public knew about their relationship, that didn't stop her and Sesshoumaru from having one anyway. He tried to ignore it. "Are you sure you gave me the correct address?"

"Yes," said Kagura as though she were out of breath, which she probably was. Naraku heard a low growl in the background.

"Kagura, get off the phone," said the source of the growl.

"Kagura, I'll call you back later," Naraku said hurriedly before hanging up the phone. He felt like gagging, and he was sure he was turning an ugly shade of green. That was an image he did not want to dwell on. He was no pervert... Well, not like that, anyway...

He looked around to see if she had returned yet. Where could she have gone? Did she already spot him and take off running? If so (and it was most likely), then she couldn't have gotten far. He pulled out his keys as he slipped his phone back into his other pocket. He didn't really want to hunt her down, but he had to see her. He had to talk to her, just this once. He slid on in to his car and drove off.

Luckily, he had gone in the correct direction, because it only took a few moments to find her sitting on a bench crying her heart away. He felt his heart ache to hold her and comfort her. However, just as he was about to park and do so, a black Porsche pulled up next to her. Naraku watched as she looked up at her savior and a look of hope crossing her face. The door opened as the man driving stepped out.

To say Naraku was floored to see Uchiha Itachi stepping out of the car to get her would be an understatement. He wasn't just flabbergasted that she had Itachi coming to get her, but the rage inside him resurfaced as he clenched onto the wheel until his knuckles turned white.

Now there were two males on his "destroy" list.

* * *

The ride had been painfully quiet; Itachi unwilling to bring up the subject, and Megumi unwilling to talk about it. She tried to wipe away the evidence of her tears as she tried to recover. She looked over at Itachi who had his usual stoic expression on.

"Itachi-san," she said, the honorific back in place, "you wouldn't happen to have any eye drops, would you?"

Itachi nearly growled at the return of the honorific. To hear her voice call out his name like that had completely stolen his breath for more than a few moments; no honorifics, no professionalism in her voice, just his name, and it excited his heart to such an extent that he was beside himself over it.

"No, I don't, but I might have some in my room," he said.

"What?!" she cried. He was taking her to _his_ place to stay? Was he mad?

"You're coming with me to my place. Unless you'd rather pay for a hotel room," he suggested. Megumi decided to answer honestly. She didn't want to offend her boss by refusing his offer.

"I suppose not," she said. "Thank you very much." Itachi merely grunted a response. Megumi shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the awkward silence fell over them.

"So, um, Itachi-san," she began, trying to break the three-feet-thick ice. "Did you enjoy the rest of the party?"

"I left not long after you did," he stated.

"Oh, that's right. Your date kind of left with mine," she said, embarrassed. "Did I interrupt anything when I called you? If so, I'm very sorry. Please forgive me!"

"No, I had just pulled into my drive when you called." _Lie! _He had actually gotten ready for bed when she called, but something told him not to tell her that.

"Oh, good," she said with a sigh of relief.

"So, when do you plan on telling me why you called me and asked me to come get you?"

"Uh," she hesitated. No, she couldn't talk about it yet. Not yet. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't want to talk about it." She flinched as she said it, knowing she was being rude at asking so much from him then not telling him why she needed his help.

They stopped at a light then as he turned to her.

"Megumi-san, remember that I am your boss," he said.

"Yes, I know," she said. "Please forgive Itachi-san, but I'm not ready discussing something like this. Please don't force me!" Her voice was professional, but still held some of that tenderness he found himself attracted to.

Ugh!

"I won't force you," he said. "I do, however, expect you to give me the full story eventually."

"Yes sir," she said. Itachi frowned, and then turned back to the road just as the light turned green. Megumi stared out the window, having been discouraged from starting conversation. Why couldn't he just converse with her without criticizing or scolding her?

Little did she know that the man sitting next to her was mentally beating himself up over the same thing. Was it so impossible for him just to talk to her? Every time he looked at her he got some strange mix of emotions. However, the one that was the most predominate was the fluttering in his stomach. It made him nauseous and extremely uncomfortable around her which inevitably caused him to become irritated. Now that feeling he preferred.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was still staring out the window, dressed in the black gown she had worn to the club, which meant that she hadn't had a chance to change. Her cheeks were no longer tear-stained, but her eyes were still red and puffy from crying.

After a good ten to fifteen minutes, they arrived at the Uchiha Compound. The Uchiha's were known for their brilliance and achievements, and were praised as one of the most intelligent families in the world. So, with success comes wealth, and that usually comes with a large estate.

It was well-known that Itachi came from the main branch of the Uchiha family. Uchiha Fugaku was general of the military of Japan, and had expected his eldest son to follow in his footsteps, but Itachi had refused, saying that he would never be as good as him and would always be looked down no matter how hard he tried. Indeed, Fugaku's accomplishments in the military were nothing to sniff at, but for Itachi to say that he would be no where near good enough to live up to that reputation could not have been further from the truth. In fact, at an early age, Itachi had proven that he was more than capable of making battle plans and see them executed. He won every game of chess, Go, majong, and every board game he ever played. Even Monopoly for crying out loud! He just never wanted to pursue that lifestyle. Sasuke had been willing at first, but after seeing the path his brother take, he decided to follow. After all, the two of them had been rivals for too long to stop now.

Despite having visited several times already, Megumi still found herself amazed over the beauty of every building. She was completely oblivious to Itachi who was watching her out of the corner of his eye, a feeling of pride welling up in his chest. She had always dreamed of living in a place like this. However, she never thought that she would actually get to do so, even if it was only for one night. When she told Itachi this, he immediately blushed.

_'She makes it sound like a one night stand!'_

Itachi finally pulled up to his part of the compound. Being a gentleman, he opened the door for her to let her out. However, the moment her feet touched the ground, they were lost somewhere beneath her. As she fell forward, she braced herself for an impact against the concrete below. She was not expecting something soft to catch her in time. She looked up to find Itachi holding her while looking down at her.

The moment their eyes met, their faces turned red, but for different reasons. Megumi was embarrassed to have done something stupid in front of her boss, even though he had obviously been expecting it, and it wasn't like it was uncommon for her to do something stupid in front of him. She just wished that just for a few moments, she could do something that wouldn't embarrass him. She thought that perhaps he too was embarrassed at her misstep and having to catch her for it.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Itachi was merely blushing from their close proximity, which only made him angry. Why did he have to get so hot and bothered-? No! Not hot and bothered like _that_! Why couldn't he be comfortable around her? Not that this wasn't enjoyable...

Ugh!

"Megumi-san, please try your best next time to stay on your feet," he said, his tone only confirming her fears.

"Yes sir, I apologize," she said as she stood up and stepped away from him. Itachi frowned, feeling as though he missed something important. He quickly dismissed it mentally and stepped away only to be stopped by a tugging on his sleeve.

"What?" he asked, not turning to look at her.

"Thank you so much," she said. "This really means a lot to me." Itachi turned to glare at her, thinking she was being sarcastic, but the tearful, meaningful look in her eyes stopped him.

"You're welcome," he replied before walking off. Megumi followed obediently. Inside, a young woman stood waiting for them. She had been waiting since Itachi had left, expecting him to come home and need her assistance.

"Sango, I need you to find some suitable sleep-wear for my guest, and then take her to her room," he said. "I'll be in my room." _Sleeping..._

Sango smiled and turned to Megumi, who immediately stiffened. They had met and conversed before, but Megumi was just uncomfortable with making someone else do something for her. Without hesitation, Megumi fell to the floor on her knees, her forehead pressed to the floor in a dogeza.*

"Please take care of me, and I apologize for making you work so late," she cried.

Itachi, who was only half-way up the stairs, rolled his eyes at his secretary. Really, her antics were almost humiliating. Wait, not almost, they _were _humiliating!

"Don't worry, Megumi-san!" Sango laughed. "I've been kept up later than this by Itachi-sama." Megumi's jaw dropped before she turned and glared at her boss. Coming from the lowly working class, she knew what it was like to have an overbearing and mean employer. He merely turned and hurried up the stairs.

"Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

The next morning started out very pleasantly. Sango had come in early to wake her and take her home. She didn't get to express her gratitude to Itachi for letting her stay for he had already headed off to work. She giggled when Sango had informed her of it. _'Now that sounds like the working stiff I know.' _When she finally arrived at her apartment building, Megumi had let out a grateful sigh when she didn't see that same person she had spotted last night there. No doubt she wouldn't have been able to take it. In any case, she got dressed quickly and with a quick note to herself to return the sleep-wear she had borrowed, she took off for work at Taisho Corp.

To say that she was surprised when she arrived and Sesshoumaru wasn't there would be a belittlement, and, indeed, Sesshoumaru was not there. Today was her last day as his secretary, so she figured she would do one thing for him before she returned to her usual job of being one of the cleaning girls. She quickly went through to make sure nothing was out of place while doing her best not to actually touch anything. However, the room and desk were already completely organized so she started for the curtains to open them when something glinted up at her from underneath a pile of papers.

Carefully and successfully moving the papers, she found the shiny object that had caught her eye. It was part of a book mark, which was (surprisingly) in a book. She picked it up and looked at the cover for the title. Her eyes widened when she saw it.

_A Blessing in Disguise_

A beautiful fairy tale of a youkai and a human both in love with the same woman, Megumi had read it several times as a child. The main character was a beautiful young woman, but she remained absolutely clueless about the two males who were in love with her. She merely loved them both, and had no intention on choosing one or the other. During this time, the same human and youkai males were part of a war over a powerful jewel. In the final battle for the powerful pearl, the young woman watched in horror as youkai killed human, human killed youkai, and the two she loved dearly, fight to death, for the jewel, for their race, for their pride, for her. Grinning, Megumi turned to her favorite part. It always made her cry, but she enjoyed every minute of it.

_Warfare was spreading rapidly around her, but she had long since lost all interest in the battle around her. There she stood in the middle of it all. Her white gown adorned with beautiful gems of emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds, glistened with purity among the gore and blood spilling everywhere around her. Her attention was fixated on not one, but two people, two creatures, a human and a taiyoukai. Their swords clashed so hard against each other, there were flashed of smarks from the friction. The human held his sword against his powerful adversary steadily. He was one of the few who could challenge the great demon before him and actually survive the experience for more than a few moments. He was as swift and graceful as his opponent, for he was different from most other humans, particularly his red eyes. His eyes could read nearly every movement of the youkai and copy it._

_The young taiyoukaidrew back his mighty sword, no hesitation in his attempts to end his opponent's life. His silver hair cascaded down his back like a waterfall of white gold. His eyes were like topaz gems glowing with rage and bitterness towards his enemy. Neither of them saw her approach. Not a drop of blood touched her. It was as if the gods themselves were trying to protect her purity, her innocence. After all, she was the one who currently held the powerful jewel, the Shikon no Tama._

_How could this be happening? How could the two men she loved more than anything else be fighting for their lives right before her, and for what? A stupid jewel? Her love? Their pride? Why? As these thoughts raced through her mind, something wet and sticky ran down her cheeks. She didn't see what it was. She didn't care._

_Finally, both human and youkai were at the end of their ropes. This last blow would decide the winner. The demon rose and held up his sword, ready to strike. The human stood as well, ready for this moment. However, neither sword ever reached their intended destinations. In the end, there was no winner._

_They both heard the sound of metal cutting through flesh, they both didn't feel any pain, and they both saw the blood of the one they loved spilled right before their eyes. Each sword had pierced a lung, her own blood staining her pure white gown. It wasn't until much later that anyone realized she had been crying tears of blood._

_Not a drop of blood was spilled on her pure soul, not a drop of anyone else's blood, but that of her own. The youkai howled at the loss of his lover. The human, whose sorrow went deep as she had been the one to heal his heart, took his own life in an attempt to follow her into the afterlife, knowing it was futile._

_The Shikon jewel reacted almost violently to her death, almost as if it too loved her. In a flash of light, it buried itself within the earth. Never to be found again._

Megumi wiped the tears from her eyes. No matter how many times she read it, she would always cry for the fallen lovers. However, what she found most perplexing (even more perplexing than how the author had somehow managed to never reveal any names through out the entire novel and it _still_make sense) was it never revealed who she was facing when the two swords pierced her chest and back. With a sigh, Megumi closed the book and held it to her chest.

It was one of her favorite books. She briefly wondered why Sesshoumaru had a copy when she heard the door to the office open. She looked up to find a very furious pair of golden eyes glaring lightning bolts at her. She shivered and put the book down.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was here before you, and I thought that I should do something nice for you since it's my last day as your temporary secretary, so I started to see if there was anything out of place when I saw the book mark inside the book. I got curious, and I saw the cover. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to poke around!"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed at her. He could tell she wasn't lying, but he couldn't shake the feeling of anger penetrating his chest. How dare she enter his office without his permission?!

"Sesshoumaru-sama," she said timidly. "Do you like this book?"

Sesshoumaru growled low and long. "Get out," he said. Her eyes widened before she ran out of the room leaving Sesshoumaru in his office. However, Sesshoumaru didn't even get a chance to get to his desk when he heard her yelp just outside the door. He let out an uncharacteristic sigh before turning around to head back out.

He found Megumi standing as still as stone, her hands covering her mouth, her eyes dilated with fear, and tears staining her cheeks. Following her line of vision, he found on the other side of the room, just coming out of the elevator, Sato Naraku.

"Megumi?"

* * *

Go to commercial break...lol!

* * *

Naraku almost couldn't believe his good fortune. Kagura had told him that Megumi worked at Taisho Corp., but to run into her this early in the morning? It was almost too good to be true.

Megumi, however, was not as thrilled. Now more than ever before she wished to just disappear. Even just now when Sesshoumaru had caught her going through his stuff did she want vanish as much as she did a this moment. She swallowed audibly before putting her arms down and steeled her nerves.

"Hello, Naraku," she said as calmly as she could muster.

Naraku found that he had less restraint then she did, even with someone as powerful and influential as Sesshoumaru standing right behind her. The sound of his name from her mouth was his undoing as he rushed her and pressed his lips to her soft sweet ones...

...right in front of Sesshoumaru.

At first, Megumi found herself very pleased with the kiss, sensing his desire for her through it like a title wave. However, it dissolved almost immediately when she remembered who exactly was behind her. With a slight shove, she pushed him back with a bright red face, unable to look over at Sesshoumaru who was now eying the couple disdainfully.

"Of course a hanyou like you would have feelings with an incompetent human such as her," he sneered. Naraku glared furiously at Sesshoumaru. Megumi merely peered up at her boss curiously, unfazed by his rude comments about her ineptitude. _'What is he talking about?'_

"Hanyou?" she asked. Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to answer, but Naraku beat him to it.

"No!" He barked. "I will not have her involved."

Megumi scowled. What were they talking about? Involved in what?

"She is my employee," growled Sesshoumaru. "As far as you're concerned, she is already involved. I will not have you telling this Sesshoumaru who he can and can not involve."

"What?"

Poor Megumi was ignored as Naraku let out a feral growl at the slightly older male, pulling Megumi back into his arms. Sesshoumaru was one of the ones he wished with all his heart that Megumi never got involved with. Sure he had Kagura now, but even she got tiring after awhile. No doubt Sesshoumaru thought her to be his property to do with as he saw fit. Just the very thought of anyone treating his love that way made him bristle.

"She is not your mate," Sesshoumaru stated. "She belongs to Deidara. My suggestion to you would be to release her."

"Will you both stop talking as if I'm not here?!" she shouted pushing Naraku away completely. "Get involved with what? What are you two talking about?"

"Megumi, are you in love with Deidara?" asked Naraku, purposefully avoiding her question to distract her. She instantly blushed, but didn't answer his question.

"I thought that we... that you and I... were over," she said sadly before looking down at the ground. Naraku nearly let out a sigh of relief at successfully distracting her. Instead, he smiled and pulled her back into his arms.

"There hasn't been a day when I don't think of you," he whispered to her. "You were my first love, after all, and I was yours."

Neither of them noticed the frown defining Sesshoumaru's face. Really, there was a time and place for this sort of thing.

"That's true, but I can't just suddenly break up with Deidara," she said. "I don't want to hurt him."

Naraku smiled. This was one of the traits he loved and hated about her. She had a habit of caring a little too much about other people's feelings. However, he would wait for her. Eventually she would realize that they were meant for each other.

Sesshoumaru looked at the two of them before speaking. "If you two are done, Naraku, I believe you and I have some important business to attend to."

"Yes," said Naraku.

"Megumi-san, you would do well to stay out of my office unless you are told otherwise by me," he said. Megumi nodded.

"Yes sir," she mumbled. Sesshoumaru glared at her before following Naraku into his office. Naraku stepped in front of the desk as Sesshoumarustepped around him to sit in his chair. The book caught his eye for a moment.

_Sesshoumaru-sama, do you like this book?_

"So, you wanted to talk?" asked Naraku, knowing this was not about business.

"Kagura says that she hasn't found it yet," said Sesshoumaru. "We don't have much time, and now we have competition. Akatsuki Inc. and Hokage Industries are doing what they can to find it."

"Well, let's see you try finding a needle in a hay stack and see how successful you are," Naraku retorted. "Despite its small size, its power is so immense that no one can sense its precise location. I do understand the urgency if the situation."

"A fight is brewing," said Sesshoumaru. "The press is becoming much too involved in this. The closest they've come so far to discovering the truth was when they found Kagura and me."

"Why do you care for this jewel so much, Sesshoumaru?" asked Naraku. "You are a very powerful youkai on your own. You don't need its help."

"I am not about to let my enemies gain another advantage over me!" Sesshoumaru nearly shouted. "They already have Kyuubi's power..."

They were both silenced by a knock on the door. "Oi! Let me in!"

Sesshoumaru nearly sighed at the familiarity of the voice. Really, his brother was too loud and obnoxious.

"Inuyasha, that's not how you speak to your older brother!" his wife scolded as they stepped through the double doors. Sesshoumaru thought of thanking her. He immediately changed his mind when he saw the big grin on her face. She obviously didn't really mean it. Megumi stood behind them, her head bowed.

"Oi, bastard, we got a problem!" shouted Inuyasha.

"Despite what you might think, I'm not so old as to have lost my hearing." The blank look on Inuyasha's face was priceless. "I can hear you well enough that you don't need to yell. What could be the problem?"

"Apparently, someone snuck into the building last night," he said. "I found some papers on my desk that weren't left there last night. Megumi's papers were all over my desk, and they had Kagura's scent on them."

"Is that so?" Sesshoumaru said his voice uncaring and monotone.

Naraku froze at the news. Was that how she got Megumi's info? Did she sneak in and read them to him over the phone? It sounded almost too much like Kagura.

"Sesshoumaru, you really need to dump that bitch! I don't care if she is your sex toy! She thinks she can get away with everything just because you two sleep together at night! It's disgusting!"

Sesshoumaru didn't even bother to defend his so-called "girl-friend". He really held no feelings for her, and he wasn't about to lie about it, either. He looked over at his irritated brother then over at Megumi, who had been strategically distracted by Inuyasha's wife, Kagome.

"I will deal with it, Inuyasha," he said. "It won't happen again."

* * *

Megumi watched as Inuyasha barged into Sesshoumaru's office without reserve. She had seen this occur once before during this past week. Standing next to her, Kagome merely smiled at her husband's antics before finally reprimanding him.

"So, Megumi-san, I understand that today is your last day as Rin's replacement," said Kagome. Megumi nodded. "Have you enjoyed it?"

"Yes, it's an honor to work for Sesshoumaru-sama," she said.

"Oh, be honest now," said Kagome. "Rin never complained, but everyone else that's tried this job has complained endlessly over his arrogant attitude, and I doubt he's changed much."

"He's not that bad," said Megumi with a slight fake smile on her face. "He's a bit harsher than my other employer Itachi."

"Megumi-san," said Kagome reprimanding her. "Please don't lie to me." Megumi spared a glance over at Naraku. Her heart was aching to be near him, but part of her (the more dominant part of her) insisted that she didn't deserve him. No, she definitely did not deserve him.

"I'm not lying," said Megumi. "I've just been having personal trouble, that's all."

"Really?" cried Kagome. "What kind of trouble? Is Deidara treating you okay?"

"Oh yes he's wonderful," she said with a smile. Suddenly, she realized something. If she didn't deserve Naraku, how could she even think of being with someone like Deidara? Sure he was a bit rough around the edges, but around her, he was gentle and protective.

"Then what's the problem?" asked Kagome.

"Oh, don't worry, I can handle it," she said. Inuyasha was the first to step out before grabbing his wife's arm and dragging her out. Inuyasha did not like to be in his brother's presence anymore than was necessary. Naraku followed soon after. Megumi looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with him. Not after making such a discovery about how hypocritical she had been in telling herself that she didn't deserve Naraku, but that didn't mean that Deidara was anything less than him! That was just stupid.

"I hope to see you again soon, Megumi," he said sincerely.

"Yeah," she said, staring at her desk as if it were the most interesting object in the room. "Me too."

She didn't look up until she heard the elevator doors close, and she was left alone once more, with Sesshoumaru in his office. With a sob, she buried her face in her hands. Why did he have to reappear in her life? She had two jobs (one being forced onto her shoulders by Danzo), a wonderful boyfriend, and some money for her to spend. Oh, that's right. She should have seen it coming. With everything going so well, it was only natural that her unnatural bad luck would catch up to her like that.

She continued to do her work to the best of her abilities, despite the urge to run away and cry until there was nothing left to cry over.

Sesshoumaru, however, found himself thoroughly distracted. He hadn't put the book up and was currently staring at it.

_"Sesshoumaru-sama," she said timidly. "Do you like this book?"_

It had been five hundred years since then, hadn't it? Yes, he had been there; he had taken part. He had been so young and foolish then, falling in love with a human girl. No, there was no way he would ever be so stupid again. He stood and left his office to see his temporary secretary working on some documents she was asked to fill out.

'Yes,' he thought as he stared at her. 'I will never be so foolish again.'

* * *

***dogeza: to sit directly on the ground and to prostrate oneself, bowing while sitting.**

**Well, things are getting serious. Okay, I'm going to assume that you all will have some questions... let me say now that I will not answer any of them. (muahahahahahahahaha!) Rather, I'll have you all sit and ponder about it. Another thing that I know you all are thinking. "Oh my gosh! She's actually making a story out of this!"**

**Yes, I know, no sarcastic remarks from anyone that might know me...=_='**

**There were a couple of anon. reviewers that I couldn't respond to, so I'll do that now.**

**krystal: Thank you for reviewing, I'm glad you like it.**

**Thea: Well, for you anon. reviewers, yeah, I think I will allow two votes, but two votes only... okay.**

**Review and vote! You know you want to!**

**Itachi: 4, Sesshoumaru: 2, Deidara: 1, neither: 0**


	6. Kisses, Memories, and War

This honestly had to be one of the worst nights of her life.

She had been through some pretty rough ones, but this had to be the worst yet. She had to have done something in a past life to give herself such bad luck (or plain idiocy) because she certainly couldn't think of anything she had done.

No, it wasn't bad because she had broken up with Deidara (she had failed to do that). Rather, it was because of her lack of courage to break up with him, among a number of other things that had gone horribly wrong today.

As soon as she got home from work, she hopped into the shower. Her day was done, or so she had thought. Almost as soon as she had a foot in the shower the doorbell rang. Standing on her doorstep stood her current boyfriend, Deidara, holding his usual bouquet of roses. Well, perhaps answering the door clad in only a bath towel was not a bright idea. Thankfully, Deidara merely laughed it off and told her to get ready (silently swearing that she would never _ever_ know how seeing her like that affected him physically). He had meant to surprise her, which he did, and in return got quite the surprise himself!

With adrenaline pumping through her veins from panic, Megumi grabbed whatever came to her hand first for her date with Deidara. In a way, this would have been the perfect opportunity to break up with him. Too bad she never got the chance. She was probably in deeper then she originally suspected.

Halfway through dinner, Deidara had to leave to fix something that Tobi had screwed up at work. He was reluctant to leave, but after much convincing on Megumi's part, he was finally persuaded to leave her be.

She couldn't help but blush at what had occurred between the two of them before he left. Her head swam as she remembered the embarrassing incident.

"_I'm sorry about this," he said. "Seems this was a bad day for both of us."_

"_Yeah," she murmured, her mind currently focused on the incident with the towel earlier that evening. Deidara just smiled. Things were changing for him, and he hadn't noticed until now. Originally, he had gone out with her, simply under Pein-sama's orders (a fact he never wanted to let her know about), but now, he was glad he did. As it had already been established before, she was not like the other women who threw themselves at him at every opportunity. She had long since proven that._

_More and more, Deidara found himself getting attached to her. He was also apprehensive about how close she and her employer Itachi were becoming. Lately, she had been talking more and more about what occurred at work with Itachi, and less about herself. He remembered the time while she had been working for Sesshoumaru as his temporary secretary; Itachi had received an earful from Pein-sama concerning how far the man had gotten behind on his work. The whole building was in an uproar over it. There were a few jokes, but there were also some rumors concerning their relationship that made Deidara want to rip Itachi apart._

_No, there was nothing extremely bad about the rumors. Spreading rumors about Megumi's loss of virginity would have been laughed at outright. It was too obvious she was still a virgin. How many people could say that at her age?_

_Megumi blushed at Deidara's gaze and averted her eyes to the floor. She felt him lift her chin up with his hand to force her to look at him. When her eyes finally met his, her lips were consumed by his in a passionate kiss._

_Her first reaction was to push him away, but it felt good, like some creature inside of her was being gently cuddled with. Something, she wasn't sure if it was really her, craved this, craved the touch of a man. The only question was, who was the right one to stroke it? Was it Naraku? Was it Deidara?_

_As Deidara's tongue sought entrance into her mouth, Megumi came to the conclusion that these desires to be touched be a man in certain ways had to be hormonal. She had never thought of wanting Naraku to do the same things to her. She had wanted their love to remain pure and innocent._

_In any case, the attraction was there for Deidara. No doubt about it as she opened her mouth to allow him access, and moaned as his greedy tongue ravaged her sweet cavern._

_Deidara had been feeling this attraction for a while now. At first, it had been on Pein-sama's orders to date and watch over the girl, perhaps see what info she has on Hokage Industries, but now, he wanted nothing more then to let her know how passionate he was about her. He had found himself daydreaming about her lately. Not all of his daydreams were exactly clean, and he would often find himself in the bathroom trying to relieve himself. Would she ever know of this? Oh, hell no! This innocent young woman probably didn't even know how a man's body worked. How turned on had he been when he saw her earlier today clad in a bath towel that barely covered anything, wet hair dripping water down the curves of her face, neck, and chest. Just thinking about it nearly made him pant with need._

_He quickly broke off the kiss. They were still in public after all._

"_I'll make it up to you. I promise."_

It wasn't until two hours later, wearing a now soaked white dress from the rain, with no umbrella, still waiting for the bus, did Takahashi Megumi realize that she _still _had not broken up with Deidara. So here she was, walking down the street, her underwear completely visible under her soaked dress, heading for home. In her embarrassment, she failed to notice a familiar silver Lamborghini pull up next to her and park.

"Takahashi-san," his voice was soft in its texture, but his tone was hard as stone. It caught her attention almost immediately.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she cried, her entire body turning a brighter shade of red.

He had been on his way home when he had seen her. She looked so pathetic standing there at the bus stop that something had compelled him to act uncharacteristically and pull over. He quickly took off his jacket and threw it around her shoulders. She was his employee, after all; how would it look on him to leave one of his own employees like that.

"Get in," he ordered her as he opened the door and practically shoved her inside. There was no way things could get any worse for her.

As soon as he was in the car, he spared her a glance and completely froze in place. She looked so innocent sitting there, his jacket covering her shoulders, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. He felt as though he was looking at something he had already seen once before. Megumi promptly noticed him staring at her.

"Um... is there something on my face?" she asked. Sesshoumaru was suddenly jolted from his daze. He hadn't realized that he had been staring. He had been thinking of days long past, and a woman long dead.

_Lord Sesshoumaru..._

Growling softly enough that she couldn't hear, he drove off, letting her direct him in the correct direction of her home. She actually lived quite a fair distance away, and he wondered momentarily how she had planned to get home without catching pneumonia.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," she said timidly. When he responded with his usual grunt, she took this rare occasion to talk to him. She didn't know how often Sesshoumaru ever took part in any conversation. Needless to say, it did not occur a lot. "Remember that book you have that I found?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Did you like the book?" she asked with a tinge of hope in her voice. Sesshoumaru glared at the road as if it was the cause of his misery.

"No," he replied, dashing all hope she had of actually being able to converse with him, but she didn't give up.

"What didn't you like about it?" she asked. He gripped the wheel as his upper lip curled in a silent snarl.

"It's a story of utter nonsense!" he ground out. "Two fools fall for the same woman. An idiot woman who threw away her duty for the sake of two men who truly believed that she loved them. They were all fools!"

"You sound as though you lived it," she said. In that moment, all anger dissipated into surprise. "I feel sorry for the woman who could not choose between her two lovers. She loved them both so much that she would rather die then pick one over the other."

_I know I would have..._

The vehicle grew silent after her little speech. As they drove on, the rain began to lift when an ambulance and fire truck drove by, heading in the same direction they were. Neither Sesshoumaru nor Megumi paid it any mind. Megumi was focused on starting a conversation with the silent man beside her, but found all her courage lost from the previous speech.

Her cell phone began to ring causing her to jump violently. Her hand shot into her pocket and clumsily dug it out. It was Deidara calling.

"Hello?"

"Oh good, you're all right," he said in a relieved tone.

"Why wouldn't I be all right?" she asked.

"I'm watching the news at work," he said. "Your apartment's on fire... Megumi? Megumi!"

His last sentence never reached her ears. Within moments of asking him her question, Megumi saw the flames licking the walls of her apartment building. Sesshoumaru stopped, his own eyes slightly wider then normal. He turned to ask Megumi if she was okay... only to find she was gone. Looking back, he saw her running for the burning building. She ducked away from the firefighters trying to stop her before she disappeared into the building.

"Megumi!" he called after her. Just after she disappeared beyond the door, one of the beams from the ceiling collapsed, effectively blocking the only entrance. Firefighters were running about, trying desperately to find a way into the building, but even the back was blocked. He was not sure what had caused him to take action, but the moment she had vanished from his sight, his blood started racing. He moved swiftly, avoiding on-lookers and the authorities easily. Had someone seen him, they would have been terrified. As a businessman who was almost constantly on the news, he had managed to make himself look more human, no markings or pointed ears. However, as he ran into the burning building, all of that was visible, and his eyes... the whites of his eyes wavered from white to red.

Inside, Megumi was crying as she desperately fought her way to her room. She had a small box full of precious memories. A locket from her now deceased mother, her favorite book, her grandmother's wedding ring, her father's favorite hat, her brother's baby boot, and an old small scrap book she had made when she was only seven years old. Of all her possessions, that was one she was not about to lose.

She fled down the hall just as part of the ceiling caved in, crashing through the floor below. Fortunately, she found what she was looking for quickly. However, her escape route was cut off by a beam in the ceiling. Her other escape route, the window was in cased in flames. The reality of her situation began to weigh down upon her heart and mind.

_'I'm going to die!'_ she thought, her heart racing. Whoever said that you see your life flash before your eyes was a liar, at least that's what she thought when she saw images flash across her mind. Memories, memories of a life she had never seen. Her own voice running through her head like a train through a tunnel.

"_Lord Sesshoumaru!"_

"_Itachi!"_

"_Why do humans hate demons?"_

"_Do you love me?"_

"_Do you always look so agitated?"_

"_Of course I love you! Why would you think otherwise?"_

Megumi coughed and sputtered as she tried to gasp for air only to get a lung full of smoke. She heard someone making a commotion. Was someone coming for her? The last thing she heard in her mind before she finally lost consciousness were two masculine voices saying the same thing.

"_I saw you with him."_

* * *

Sesshoumaru lifted the giant beam up as he reached for the unconscious girl who was desperately clinging to a shoe box. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes (all this for a _shoe box_?), he picked her up and headed for the door. However, just past the threshold, the floor was gone. Taking the box in one hand, and tossing her onto his shoulder, he ran for the window and leaped out of it, shattering the glass. The people on the street down below ducked out of the way of the sharp objects raining down on them as Sesshoumaru made a graceful landing after jumping out of a window three stories up.

Quickly, firemen and police officers were swarming around the two of them. Megumi was placed on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance. Sesshoumaru made certain her box went with her. They quickly put him in an oxygen mask. He looked slightly disheveled with ash on his face and lower arms. His sleeves were rolled up, and his light blue work shirt was covered in soot.

However, his focus was else where, on his way in, he saw them, images of the past, playing on the walls of the burning building. They were the memories of a life he had long forgotten, but they all played from a different point of view, meaning that someone or something was projecting those images onto the walls.

His phone rang. It was Naraku, of all people. With a slight frown, he answered it.

"Did you feel that?" the hanyou asked the moment the phone stopped ringing.

"Feel what?"

"The jewel! There was a tremor just now. The Shikon jewel's power is starting to become more concentrated. Whatever is going on, this is good news for us. We're getting closer!" Naraku had not seen the news yet, apparently. Otherwise, he would have been more concerned about the girl's welfare.

What neither the full-fledged daiyoukai, or the hanyou knew was that the tremor had occurred the moment Megumi had lost consciousness. It had been the jewel showing her those images and pictures she had seen and heard.

Megumi, somehow, was connected to the jewel.

* * *

Today was a rare day indeed...

Uchiha Itachi was rushing somewhere other then work.

The news had not failed to report a young woman diving into a fire (the young woman was later recognized as Deidara's girlfriend) and then having the handsome businessman, Sesshoumaru, dive in after her. The moment the story reached Itachi's ears, he was out the door faster then it took for Megumi to make a fool of herself, and that was pretty quick.

He drove like a madman for the hospital. He was lucky that no one pulled him over, or that there were no accidents on the free way. A trip that would have taken him twenty minutes had he obeyed the speed limit he made in little more than five. As he stepped into the ER room, his eyes quickly fell on Sesshoumaru who had only just arrived himself. When the doctors saw that he was fine, they released him.

Itachi raced over to him.

"What happened?" he demanded. Sesshoumaru turned to him when his eyes widened noticeably. This young man standing in front of him was an exact replica of the man who had stolen _her_ away from him five hundred years previous. It took everything in him not to grab him by the throat and kill him there, and not just because the young man had foolishly gave him an order.

"She tried to get some important items," was all he could manage at this point.

"I see," said Itachi. It sounded like typical Megumi behavior to do something rash and potentially hazardous to herself. "Do you know how long it will be before visitors are allowed in?"

"As soon as she has stabilized," Sesshoumaru replied. "They want to be sure she is not seriously injured."

Itachi thought for a moment. "I don't think she is insured," he said at last.

"I will cover it," said Sesshoumaru.

"Now wait just a minute," said Itachi. "She's more my employee than yours, I should be the one to cover her expenses."

"If I recall correctly, Uchiha," Sesshoumaru said in a low threatening voice, "Takahashi-san, during her time as _my_ secretary, told me how you were practically holding the phone with her number on it so that you could fire her as soon as possible. Tell me, why the change of heart?" He had no idea why he had brought that up. The man's concern for the girl was grinding on his nerves for some reason. Normally, such things never affected him so.

Itachi was caught in a cross-roads. If he were to take one wrong step, he would end up admitting the feelings he had been so adamantly denying for a while now.

"I'll find her a new place to live then," said Itachi, effectively avoiding the question. "In the mean time, she should probably stay with-"

"Me," said a familiar voice. Both Sesshoumaru and Itachi turned to find Deidara glaring at them. "She's my woman. She stays with me."

Itachi's feathers weren't the only ones ruffled by Deidara's declaration of war. Sesshoumaru also found himself bristling at the blond's comments. As the three of them waited for several hours to be allowed to go in and see her, they all glared at each other, as if daring one another to make the first move.

_

* * *

_

A soft melody drifted quietly with the wind. Its sweet sound rustled through the trees and played around with the red, yellow, orange, and gold leaves of autumn. There were no words to the song, and it was so quiet it seemed to come from the very wind itself.

_With the crunch of the leaves and the occasional snap of a twig, someone was humming the tune as she walked through the forest of Momiji trees. A young woman dressed in a fine silk kimono stepped through the forest cautiously. Her long dark tresses flowed down her back and the ends were tied back as the hair of a noble woman._

_She was not very old, perhaps only fifteen, which, for that time and age, would actually have been old, but as she gently tread the forest floor humming her tune, her age was dismissed by her beauty. Her soft skin which had never seen hard labor had an unearthly glow to it giving the illusion to any man who crossed her path that she was a goddess._

_However, that unearthly glow was not her own, but rather, it was the jewel that hung around her neck that radiated brightly. This was the fabled Shikon Jewel. Created from the soul of Midoriko and a horde of demons, the jewel had somehow attached itself to her spiritually. To be separated from her for any period of time caused the jewel to strike at anything else that tried to touch it. It was almost as if the jewel itself had fallen for the beautiful maiden._

_As the young maiden continued her stroll through the woods, she heard something move. Frightened, she ceased her own movement and waited. She no longer hummed, but rather, in her panicked state, searched desperately for the cause of her fear._

_She didn't have to wait long, out of the brush rose a demon with the head and torso of a woman, but the rest of her was that of a mantis. The young woman shrieked as the demon hissed at her._

"_You..." she hissed. "You are the Keeper... the Keeper of the Shikon Jewel!"_

_The young woman didn't respond, just stared up at the creature in sheer horror. When the thing stepped forward, she seemed to come to her senses as she bolted for an escape, the mantis on her heels._

"_Give it to me..." it hissed. "Give me the jewel."_

_The poor woman tripped over a long in her attempt to get away. The mantis hung over her preventing any escape. The feminine face of the mantis grinned, showing off her sharp teeth. Just as it was about to strike, something flew through the air, cutting off the very claw the mantis was going to strike with. Black blood sprayed all over the ground and trees, but not on the innocent girl who cowered in fear._

_The demon let out a howl of pain before a figure of a human appeared and leaped at the creature, effectively cutting off the monsters head. As the young woman trembled in fear and horror to the killing she had just witnessed, not a single drop of the monster's blood had been splattered on her. It appeared the Shikon Jewel had erected some sort of barrier to protect her._

_Her savior then turned to her, and her breath caught in her throat. He was gorgeous. He had long dark hair pulled back in a pony tail and dark eyes that peered through her soul. Just staring into those emotionless eyes made her heart flutter like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon._

"_Thank you," she said as soon as she found her breath. After a moments pause, the stranger turned to walk away when he was stopped. "Wait! Please help me! I'm lost! Could you, um, could you climb up into the tree and tell me which direction the nearest castle is and how far?"_

_Her cheeks were vermilion as she asked out of embarrassment. He stared at her a moment before he leaped up into the trees and disappeared into the foliage. When he returned he landed right in front of her, startling her half to death._

"_Head east about two miles from here," he said. "There's a castle over in that direction. I would assume that is your home."_

"_Um, yes it is thank you," she replied. Then she looked at him pleadingly, again. "I have no sense of direction, would you mind leading me there? I'll be sure you are rewarded for helping me."_

_For a moment, she was afraid he was about to refuse when he grabbed her by the hand and began to head east. She was sure her heart had stopped when he grabbed her._

"_Thank you," she whispered quietly. Again, she received no response to her gratitude. Even though she knew he was only doing this for the prize that awaited him as soon as they arrived at her home, but deep down, she couldn't help but wish that he was doing this for different reasons._

_It was just about nightfall when they arrived at the entrance to her home. The sky was dyed in orange, pink, purple and blue. She peered at the youth still holding her hand. His gaze was hard and focused. He hadn't even looked at her the whole time they had walked together._

"_This is where we part," he said suddenly. Her eyes widened._

"_Wait, your reward," she said._

"_There's no need," he replied. She gave him a puzzled look before he started to turn away. She stopped him one last time._

"_May I at least know the name of the man who saved my life?" she asked._

"_Itachi... Uchiha Itachi," he said._

"_Will I ever see you again, Itachi-san?" For a moment, she almost thought she saw a ghost of a smile flutter across his face._

"_Perhaps..."_

_

* * *

_

Seasons past, and she had not seen him since that day. Depression had set in for a little while when she realized the chances of ever seeing him again were slim to none. Her father, out of genuine love and concern for his daughter, had come to the decision that perhaps she needed to get away for a while. So, he wrote to his sister-in-law, requesting permission for his daughter to stay with her for the time being.

_As of right now, the young woman was currently riding on horseback with two dozen soldiers with her up north toward Hokkaido. However, they had no idea that they were currently treading through the Western Territories of Inu no Taisho._

_It was late that night. A beautiful crescent moon hung high in the sky, and the world was covered in green, only recently having awoken from it's winter slumber. For the young woman now sleeping contentedly in her tent, it had been over a year since she had met that handsome stranger that had saved her._

_Itachi..._

_Outside, six of the men were out scouting the area to make sure there were no immediate threats in the area, six were at the camp on watch duty while the other twelve slept. The shifts would of course, change as the night wore on, but before even the first shift change, one of the scouts returned, his breathing labored and his eyes wide with fear._

"_A powerful demon is headed this way," he cried. "He must be after the Shikon Jewel!" As if none of them had actually been asleep, the twelve men suddenly jumped up and surrounded the tent, ready to fight to the death with whoever dared approach._

_The other six, plus the scout, also took their positions. Archers climbed up into the trees, readying their bows to strike whatever stepped out from the brush._

_However, despite their defenses, nothing could have prepared them for what they saw. Indeed, a demon was approaching their campsite, but his beauty made even their jaws drop. His stunning silver hair reflected the moonlight like a shimmering lake, and his golden eyes bore down on them like the burning sun._

_Not one of them dared to make a move against him._

"_I can sense the Shikon Jewel here," he said. "Word is that a human woman holds it in her possession." His eyes were fixated on the tent as he stepped forward. The archers in the trees seemed to snap from their daze as they shot their arrows at the invader._

_Without so much as blinking, he twirled his hand, a poison whip following his movements, snapped the arrows in half in mid air. Before the archers could draw more arrows, all the trees that they were in began to collapse. Apparently the poison whip had done more than stop their arrows._

_The men on the ground were awakened by this scene of power demonstrated by the demon. One found the courage to charge at the youkai. The demon easily avoided the sword and slashed his claws at the man, ripping his throat out._

_Hearing the commotion outside, the young woman took a peak to find one of her men dying at the feet of the handsome youkai. Her eyes widened and, foregoing any possible danger, ran out over to the dying man._

"_Yukimaru!" she cried. The poor man could not speak, having his throat ripped out, but one look at the young princesses face made him smile. He was happy that he got the chance to try and protect her, even if it was in vain._

"_How could you?!" she shouted at the demon. Her tears were pouring down her face, but the demon paid them no mind, as his eyes were now locked onto the jewel hanging around her neck._

_She glared at him as he began to reach for it. She didn't stop him, but she didn't back down either. As soon as his fingers were in range of the jewel, it lashed out, electricity biting at his hands and burning the flesh. The demon did not flinch from the pain, but his hand did recede its advances._

"_So, the rumors are true," he said. "You are the only one the jewel will allow to possess it."_

"_Yes," she said. "It wants me to make a wish, but I have not made it. That is what it's waiting for."_

"_Is that so?" he replied, his voice untouched by any sort of emotion._

"_You deserved it," she said, referring to his burnt hand. "You've killed one of my men."_

"_I was merely defending myself," he said. After a long pause, he spoke again. "Since that jewel will not separate from you, you will come with me." He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. Her men ran forward when she shouted at them._

"_Stop!" she ordered. They all halted in their movements. Even they could see the demon's aura clashing with the power of the Shikon Jewel trying to protect her._

"_That jewel is no good in the hands of a human," he said, his voice devoid of emotion._

"_And yet you are forced to fight it in order to take it from a human woman," she replied, her own voice equally emotionless._

_Before he could respond, the ground began to tremble as a giant ogre rose over the tree tops. It bellowed unintelligible words as it reached down for the young woman and the demon holding her upright. In a flash, the demon uncharacteristically lifted her up into his arms and leaped out of harms way._

_It wasn't until after the scuffle with the ogre did the men realize that the demon had taken off with their princess._

"_Release me this instant!" she screamed in his ear causing him to wince. In this case, his sensitive hearing worked against him. He growled at her._

"_Only if you cease your shrieking, woman," he ground out. She glared at him, but did not say anything more. He did set her down but grabbed her fore arm as she tried to escape him._

"_Why does the jewel persist to remain with you?" he asked her._

"_How should I know? Why do you keep me with you when you hate humans?" she shot back. She wished now more then ever for the stranger, Itachi, to come and save her._

"_You talk brave, but I can hear your rapid heartbeat and see the fear in your eyes," he said. He leaned down, his lips curling as he bared his fangs. He slowly opened his mouth as his fangs came into contact with her flesh over her jugular. He did not pierce the skin, but he heard her whimper and smelt the salt of tears._

_He withdrew slowly, studying her reaction. She was trembling with fear, and he took great pleasure in having her submit to his will. He could still taste her._

_Looking up at him, her eyes were pleading with his._

"_Please," she whispered. "Don't kill me."_

I never even got to say good-bye...

"_Hmph, pathetic, all you humans are the same," he said._

"_What?"_

"_After you have disrespected what is more powerful then you, you beg for mercy when your lives are threatened. Why should I? Why should I let you live?"_

"_I don't know!" she cried, her tears were pouring down her face in full force now. She could barely speak through her sobs. "I don't know, just please, don't kill me!"_

_He did not know what possessed him to do it. Perhaps it was the desire to possess the Shikon Jewel which he had no real use for. Perhaps he did find her enticing and just didn't know it then. Whatever the reason, he pulled down the sleeve of her kimono, causing it to fall off her shoulder and leave a fair amount of cleavage._

_She gasped before screaming out in agony as he buried his fangs into the juncture where her shoulder and neck meet. She struggled against his firm grip, but it proved to be futile. She could feel something entering through the wound, spreading through her body painfully and for a moment, she feared he was trying to poison her, but as quickly as it started, it receded into one spot, right where he had bitten her. He gently cleaned the wound with his tongue until nothing but what looked to be the tattoo of a periwinkle crescent moon._

_He finally released her, and she crumbled to the ground, her shoulder bare for the world to see. She didn't even bother touching it for fear that it would react to her touch. She stared at the ground blankly as he spoke._

"_I have marked you as mine, woman," he said. "From now on, you will come when this Sesshoumaru calls. Underneath that seal is a dose of my poison. If you do not come when I call, the seal will be released, and you will die."_

_Her lips were sealed, but she had heard every word._

"_That is the price for your life..."_

* * *

**Okay, I started this in like september and didn't finish it until like the end of october. Please forgive my tardiness. There was a kiss! I gave you all a kiss! And a burning apartment building! And the tension has just tripled now that three of the men are now at war with eachother (and themselves). Naraku's going to be like a wrecking ball through their war since Megumi already has a thing for him (still).**

**In case you all haven't guessed already, yes, Sesshoumaru is a full-fledged demon, a daiyoukai. Itachi, well, we'll find out what he was in his previous life later (I'm evil like that). Notice how in Megumi's previous life she was drop dead gorgeous and now in this life she's more than plain, she's dull, and yet still she's capturing hearts... (unintentionally of course, if she were to ever find out, she'd probably die from disbelief. I know I would)**

**Anyway, please vote and review... I'm going to tally the votes when we get closer to the end. I've lost count. Anon. reviewers, please leave your vote in your review, and you can vote for two people, but only two! The nominees are now: Itachi, Sesshoumaru, Deidara, and Naraku. Signed reviewers, please go to my profile and vote in the poll. Sorry, you only get one vote.**


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